slide

/slaɪd/

/slaɪd/

Other forms: slid; sliding; slides; slidden

To slide is to move down or across something in a smooth way. If you’re into that kind of thing, head to a playground and go down a slide. Just don’t push any toddlers out of the way.

You can slide your bed across your room so it's near the window, or slide on the kitchen floor in your socks. You can also slide down a slide, a play structure that's designed for climbing up and sliding down. Another kind of slide is the small rectangular piece of glass that scientists slide under a microscope to examine specimens, or the photography slide you slide into a projector for viewing.

Definitions of slide

1. verb

   move smoothly along a surface
   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
2. verb

   move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
   synonyms: skid, slew, slip, slue

   types:

   submarine

   move forward or under in a sliding motion

   skid

   slide without control

   side-slip

   slide sideways through the air in a downward direction in an airplane along an inclined lateral axis

   type of:

   glide

   move smoothly and effortlessly
3. verb

   to pass or move unobtrusively or smoothly
   “They slid through the wicket in the big gate”

   synonyms: slither

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
4. noun

   the act of moving smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it
   “his slide didn't stop until the bottom of the hill”

   synonyms: coast, glide

   types:

   sideslip, skid, slip

   an unexpected slide

   snowboarding

   the act of sliding down a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard

   type of:

   motion, move, movement

   the act of changing location from one place to another
5. noun

   sloping channel through which things can descend
   synonyms: chute, slideway, sloping trough

   types:

   coal chute

   a chute for coal

   runway

   a chute down which logs can slide

   water chute

   chute with flowing water down which toboggans and inner tubes and people slide into a pool

   type of:

   gutter, trough

   a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater
6. noun

   plaything consisting of a sloping chute down which children can slide
   synonyms: playground slide, sliding board

   type of:

   plaything, toy

   an artifact designed to be played with
7. noun

   (geology) the descent of a large mass of earth or rocks or snow etc.
   types:

   avalanche

   a slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain

   landslide, landslip

   a slide of a large mass of dirt and rock down a mountain or cliff

   lahar

   an avalanche of volcanic water and mud down the slopes of a volcano

   mudslide

   a landslide of mud

   rockslide

   a landslide of rocks

   type of:

   descent

   a movement downward
8. noun

   (music) rapid sliding up or down the musical scale
   “the violinist was indulgent with his swoops and slides”

   synonyms: swoop

   type of:

   glissando

   a rapid series of ascending or descending notes on the musical scale
9. noun

   a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study
   synonyms: microscope slide

   type of:

   plate glass, sheet glass

   glass formed into large thin sheets
10. noun

    a transparency mounted in a frame; viewed with a slide projector
    synonyms: lantern slide

    type of:

    foil, transparency

    picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector