I. ˈskid noun
( -s )
Etymology: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skīth stick of wood — more at ski
1. : one of a group of objects (as planks or logs) used to support or elevate a structure or object
commodities which are particularly susceptible to water damage should be on skids, pallets or elevated platforms — National Fire Codes
as
a. : one of a number of beams on which a small ship is constructed or repaired
two landing craft which had come to grief on the coral were in the skids — K.M.Dodson
b. : one of a number of beams on which a boat is elevated above a ship's deck
2. : a wooden fender hung over a ship's side to protect it in handling cargo — usually used in plural
3.
a. : a usually iron shoe or clog attached to a chain and placed under a wheel to prevent its turning when descending a steep hill : drag
b. : a hook attached to a chain and used by catching round a spoke for the same purpose
c. : a brake for a power machine (as a crane)
4. : a timber, bar, rail, pole, or log used in pairs or sets to form a slideway (as for an incline from a truck to the sidewalk) or such a set fastened temporarily or permanently to the bottom of a machine or structure to be slid
gas-turbine power plants … may be mounted on skids and moved from place to place — Modern Industry
specifically : one of the logs forming a skid road
5.
[ skid (II) ]
: the act of skidding : slip , sideslip
6. : a runner used as a member of the landing gear of an airplane or helicopter — see tail skid , wing skid
7. skids plural : a route to defeat, downfall, failure, destruction, or other disastrous situation
a celebrated matador who has been on the skids for some time — New Yorker
will have to put the skids under the pressure-groups who are trying to keep up the price of whatever they have to sell — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
8.
a. or skid platform : a low platform of wood or metal mounted on wheels, legs, runners, or combinations thereof on which material is mounted for handling and moving (as by a fork truck)
b. : a varying quantity (as no more than 3000 pounds of paper) packed on a skid
II. verb
( skidded ; skidded ; skidding ; skids )
transitive verb
1. : to apply a brake or skid to : slow or halt by a skid
the guard got down to skid the wheel for the descent — Charles Dickens
2.
a. : to drag (logs) from the stump to a landing, skidway, or mill : yard
b. : to haul along or slide on skids
the new span will be skidded to the river by high powered winch equipment over heavily greased rails — Windsor Star (Canada)
c. : to raise, hoist, or store upon skids
contents … should be skidded at least 4 inches above the floor lever — National Fire Codes
d. : to package (as paper) on a skid
3. : to reinforce or repair (a road) with logs or poles
4. : to cause to skid
skidded his car on an icy pavement — F.B.Gipson
intransitive verb
1. : to slide without rotating (as a wheel held from turning while a vehicle moves onward)
2.
a. : to fail to grip the roadway ; specifically : to slip sideways on the road
the truck skidded on the wet road
b. of an airplane : to slide sidewise away from the center of curvature when turning — compare sideslip
c. : to cross an especially slippery surface without effort or fall or nearly fall through loss of balance : slide , slip
skidding clumsily across the ice — Arthur Knight
both horses skidding in the mud at every step — H.L.Davis
3. : to fall rapidly, steeply, or far
sales of new models have skidded 60 percent — Newsweek
III. noun
: a losing streak
a five-game skid