slip

slip¹

verb (slips, slipping, slipped)

1》 lose one's balance or footing and slide unintentionally for a short distance.

    ↘accidentally slide or move out of position or from someone's grasp.

    ↘fail to grip or make proper contact with a surface.

2》 pass gradually to a worse condition.

    ↘(usu. slip up) make a careless error.

3》 move or place quietly, quickly, or stealthily.

4》 escape or get loose from (a means of restraint).

    ↘fail to be remembered by (one's mind or memory).

    ↘release (a hunting dog) from restraint.

    ↘release (the clutch of a motor vehicle) slightly or for a moment.

5》 Knitting move (a stitch) to the other needle without knitting it.

6》 (of an animal) produce (dead young) prematurely; abort.

noun

1》 an act of slipping.

    ↘a sideways movement of an aircraft in flight.

    ↘Geology the relative horizontal displacement of corresponding points on either side of a fault plane.

2》 a minor or careless mistake.

3》 a loose-fitting garment, especially a short petticoat.

4》 Cricket a fielding position close behind the batsman on the off side.

5》 short for slipway.

6》 a leash which enables a dog to be released quickly.

Phrases

give someone the slip informal evade or escape from someone.

let something slip

1》 reveal something inadvertently in conversation.

2》 archaic release a hound from the leash to begin the chase.

slip of the pen (or the tongue) a minor mistake in writing (or speech).

Derivatives

slippage noun

Origin

ME: prob. from Mid. Low Ger. slippen (v.); cf. slippery.

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slip²

noun

1》 a small piece of paper for writing on or that gives printed information.

2》 a long, thin, narrow strip of wood or other material.

3》 (a slip of a ——) a small or slim young person: a slip of a girl.

4》 Printing a printer's proof on a long piece of paper; a galley proof.

5》 a cutting taken from a plant for grafting or planting; a scion.

Origin

ME: prob. from MDu., Mid. Low Ger. slippe 'cut, strip'.

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slip³

noun a creamy mixture of clay, water, and typically a pigment of some kind, used for decorating earthenware.

Origin

C17: of obscure origin; cf. Norw. slip(a) 'slime'.