adj
Meaning 1
Slithery; slippery.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
slither
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Australian, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈslɪðə/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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New-Zealand: /ˈsləðə/
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/ˈslɪvə/ England, th-fronting
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General-American: /ˈslɪðɚ/
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Scotland: /ˈslɪðəɾ/
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rhymes with -ɪðə(ɹ)
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homophone: sliver (th-fronting)
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CMU ARPABET: S L IH1 DH ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A limestone rubble.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A sliver.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, nonstandard, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To move about smoothly and from side to side.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To slide.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
to pass or move unobtrusively or smoothly
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- They slid through the wicket in the big gate
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: slide
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: travel, go, move, locomote
History
Etymology
From Middle English slitheren, alteration of slideren (“to slither, creep”), from Old English slidrian (“to slip, slide, slither”), from Proto-West Germanic *slidrōn (“to slide, slither”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydh- (“to slip”), equivalent to slide + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch slidderen (“to slip, wriggle, slither”), German schlittern (“to slither, skid”). More at slide.
Across languages
Translations
35 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: движа се като змия (dviža se kato zmija) — to move smoothly from side to side
- Catalan: reptar — to move smoothly from side to side
- Czech: plazit se — to move smoothly from side to side
- Czech: šoupnout se — to move smoothly from side to side
- Finnish: kiemurrella — to move smoothly from side to side
- Finnish: luikerrella — to move smoothly from side to side
- Finnish: luikertaa — to move smoothly from side to side
- French: ramper — to move smoothly from side to side
- French: glisser en ondulant — to move smoothly from side to side
- Ido: reptar — to move smoothly from side to side
- Italian: strisciare — to move smoothly from side to side
- Portuguese: rastejar — to move smoothly from side to side
- Portuguese: serpear — to move smoothly from side to side
- Portuguese: serpentear — to move smoothly from side to side
- Portuguese: serpentar — to move smoothly from side to side
- Portuguese: zigue-zaguear — to move smoothly from side to side
- Portuguese: ondear — to move smoothly from side to side
- Scots: hirsel — to move smoothly from side to side
- Serbo-Croatian: gmizati — to move smoothly from side to side
- Spanish: reptar — to move smoothly from side to side
- Spanish: ratear — to move smoothly from side to side
- Thai: เลื้อย (lʉ́ai) — to move smoothly from side to side
- Bulgarian: плъзгам се (plǎzgam se) — to slide
- Czech: klouzat se — to slide
- Finnish: valua — to slide
- French: glisser — to slide
- French: se faufiler — to slide
- German: schlittern — to slide
- German: rutschen — to slide
- Hungarian: csúszik — to slide
- Hungarian: siklik — to slide
- Hungarian: csúszkál — to slide
- Italian: scivolare — to slide
- Portuguese: deslizar — to slide
- Spanish: deslizarse — to slide