I. slip 1 S3 W2 /slɪp/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle slipped , present participle slipping )
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ slip , ↑ slipper , ↑ slippage , ↑ slipperiness ; verb : ↑ slip ; adjective : ↑ slippery ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Middle Dutch ; Origin: Middle Low German slippen ]
1 . FALL OR SLIDE [intransitive] to slide a short distance accidentally, and fall or lose your balance slightly:
Wright slipped but managed to keep hold of the ball.
slip on
He slipped on the ice.
2 . GO SOMEWHERE [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to go somewhere, without attracting other people’s attention SYN slide :
Ben slipped quietly out of the room.
One man managed to slip from the club as police arrived.
3 . PUT SOMETHING SOMEWHERE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put something somewhere quietly or smoothly SYN slide :
Ann slipped the book into her bag.
A letter had been slipped under his door.
Carrie slipped her arm through her brother’s.
4 . GIVE SOMETHING TO SOMEBODY [transitive] to give someone something secretly or without attracting much attention
slip somebody something
I slipped him a ten-dollar bill to keep quiet.
slip something to somebody
Carr slips the ball to King who scores easily.
5 . MOVE [intransitive] to move smoothly, especially off or from something:
As he bent over, the towel round his waist slipped.
slip off/down/from etc
He watched the sun slip down behind the mountains.
The ring had slipped off Julia’s finger.
Cally slipped from his grasp and fled.
6 . KNIFE [intransitive] if a knife or other tool slips, it moves so that it accidentally cuts the wrong thing:
The knife slipped and cut his finger.
7 . GET WORSE [intransitive] to become worse or lower than before:
Standards have slipped in many parts of the industry.
His popularity slipped further after a series of scandals.
You’re slipping, Doyle! You need a holiday.
8 . CHANGE CONDITION [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to gradually start being in a particular condition SYN fall
slip into
He had begun to slip into debt.
She slipped into unconsciousness and died the next day.
The project has slipped behind schedule.
9 . CLOTHES [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put a piece of clothing on your body, or take it off your body, quickly and smoothly
slip something off/on
Peter was already at the door slipping on his shoes.
slip into/out of
She slipped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower.
10 . TIME [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if time slips away, past etc, it passes quickly
slip away/past/by
The search for the missing child continued, but time was slipping away.
The hours slipped past almost unnoticed.
11 . slip your mind/memory if something slips your mind, you forget it:
I meant to buy some milk, but it completely slipped my mind.
12 . let something slip to say something without meaning to, when you had wanted it to be a secret:
He let it slip that they were planning to get married.
13 . GET FREE [transitive] to get free from something that was holding you:
The dog slipped his collar and ran away.
14 . slip through the net British English , slip through the cracks American English if someone or something slips through the net, they are not caught or dealt with by the system that is supposed to catch them or deal with them:
In a class of 30 children, it is easy for one to slip through the net and learn nothing.
15 . let something slip (through your fingers) to not take an opportunity, offer etc:
Don’t let a chance like that slip through your fingers!
16 . slip one over on somebody especially American English informal to deceive or play a trick on someone
17 . slip a disc to suffer an injury when one of the connecting parts between the bones in your back moves out of place
slip away phrasal verb
1 . to leave a place secretly or without anyone noticing:
He slipped away into the crowd.
2 . if something such as an opportunity slips away, it is no longer available:
This time, Radford did not let her chance slip away.
slip something ↔ in phrasal verb
to use a word or say something without attracting too much attention:
He had slipped in a few jokes to liven the speech up.
slip out phrasal verb
if something slips out, you say it without really intending to:
I didn’t mean to say it. The words slipped out.
slip up phrasal verb
to make a mistake ⇨ slip-up :
The company apologized for slipping up so badly.
slip up on
Someone had slipped up on the order.
II. slip 2 S3 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ slip , ↑ slipper , ↑ slippage , ↑ slipperiness ; verb : ↑ slip ; adjective : ↑ slippery ]
[ Sense 1,8: Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Middle Dutch ; Origin: Middle Low German slippe 'split, slit, flap' ]
[ Sense 2-7, 9: Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ slip 1 ]
[ Sense 10: Language: Old English ; Origin: slypa 'slime' ]
1 . PAPER [countable] a small or narrow piece of paper:
a slip of paper
an order slip
a betting slip
⇨ ↑ payslip
2 . MISTAKE [countable] a small mistake:
Molly knew she could not afford to make a single slip.
3 . slip of the tongue/pen a small mistake you make when you are speaking or writing, especially by using the wrong word:
It was just a slip of the tongue.
⇨ ↑ Freudian slip
4 . give somebody the slip informal to escape from someone who is chasing you:
Somehow she’d given them the slip.
5 . CLOTHING [countable] a piece of underwear, similar to a thin dress or skirt, that a woman wears under a dress or skirt:
a white silk slip
6 . GETTING WORSE [countable usually singular] an occasion when something becomes worse or lower SYN drop
slip in
a slip in house prices
7 . SLIDE [countable] an act of sliding a short distance or of falling by sliding
8 . a slip of a girl/boy etc old-fashioned a small thin young person – often used humorously
9 . CRICKET [countable usually plural] a part of the field where players stand, trying to catch the ball in ↑ cricket
10 . CLAY [uncountable] technical a mixture of clay and water that is used for decorating pots