cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
simply
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɪmpli/
Forms: form: more simply
form: most simply
Etymology: From Middle English symply, symplely; equivalent to simple + -ly, with *-lely simplified to -ly by haplology.
Senses: topics: manner
antonyms: complexly
glosses: In a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone.
topics: manner
synonyms: clearly
obviously
unquestionably
glosses: Plainly; without art or subtlety
examples: text: Mrs. Thorold had told her sons that a young lady was visiting at the house, whose history she had given them in short hand, describing her as a dependent on the late Mrs. Willoughby, whom her son had very simply intended to marry at Alvestone […].
ref: 1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 179:
topics: manner
glosses: Foolishly; stupidly.
examples: text: I was simply asking a question.
text: A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails.[…]This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?
ref: 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
text: Rather than scanning a boarding pass or handing over a passport, you simply stare into a camera and you’re verified.
ref: 2019 May 21, Dylan Curran, “Facial recognition will soon be everywhere. Are we prepared?”, in The Guardian:
synonyms: word: just
word: but
word: just
word: literally
word: merely
word: no more than
word: nothing but
word: only
word: simply
glosses: Merely; solely.
examples: text: That was a simply wonderful dessert.
text: What about the way you love me? / And the way you squeeze me? / Simply beautiful
ref: 1972, Al Green, “Simply Beautiful”:
synonyms: word: very
word: above a bit
word: absolutely
word: abundantly
word: all too
word: but good
word: completely
word: eminently
word: ever so
word: exceedingly
word: excessively
word: extremely
word: greatly
word: highly
word: in spades
word: main
word: mightily
word: murrain
word: passing
word: positively
word: pretty
word: quite
word: right
word: simply
word: sore
word: specially
word: strongly
word: swith
word: truly
word: vastly
word: very
word: very much
word: way
word: way too
word: wicked
qualifier: degree
glosses: absolutely, positively.
examples: text: Simply, he just fired you.
synonyms: word: honestly
word: actually
word: all things considered
word: as a matter of fact
word: by right
word: come to think of it
word: fact is
word: forsooth
word: frankly
word: honestly
word: in actuality
word: in fact
word: in faith
word: in point of fact
word: in reality
word: in truth
word: indeed
word: literally
word: properly
word: really
word: right
word: simply
word: soothfast
word: soothly
word: to tell the truth
word: truly
word: truthfully
word: verily
word: wis
glosses: Frankly.
Derived terms: purely and simply
simply connected
Related terms: single
Sisyphean
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: sīs'əfēʹən
ipa: /ˌsɪsəˈfiːən/
Forms: form: Sisyphusean
form: sisyphean
form: Sisyphian
form: Sysyphean
form: Sisyphic
form: sisyphic
form: sisiphic
Etymology: From Sisyphus + -ean, from Ancient Greek Σίσυφος (Sísuphos). Sisyphus was a Greek mythical figure who was doomed to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, only to have it roll back down again.
Senses: examples: text: Sisyphean task
text: Sisyphean labors
text: Four bucketsful of water—one for each cell—seven for the long passage, two for lavatory and w.c.'s, brasses to clean, paint to dust. It seemed a Sisyphean task, no sooner ended than a new one was exacted.
ref: 1906, Mary Higgs, Glimpses into the Abyss:
text: As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one.
ref: 2013 August 10, “A new prescription”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2020:
text: Fact is, this appliance actually contains some heaters in addition to its coolers. That apparent self-defeating contradiction is not a Sisyphean exercise in futility devised as a cruel philosophical joke by nihilistic engineers. It's actually just one of several brilliant pieces of engineering that have made these ubiquitous boxes utterly transformative forces in our lives.
ref: 2020 September 7, Adam Ragusea, 0:14 from the start, in How refrigerators work, and how we all ended up with one, Macon, archived from the original on 15 Sep 2024:
text: But whoever does the policing, whether a supervisor or an operator, faces a Sisyphean battle against a well-documented phenomenon: something called automation complacency. When you automate any part of a task, the human overseer starts to trust that the machine has it handled and stops paying attention.
ref: 2022 March 8, Lauren Smiley, “‘I’m the Operator’: The Aftermath of a Self-Driving Tragedy”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2022:
text: I wasn’t cursed to some joyless Sisyphean slog.
ref: 2025 May 25, Sam Graham-Felsen, “Where Have All My Deep Male Friendships Gone?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 25 May 2025:
synonyms: herd cats
like painting the Forth Bridge
glosses: Incessant or incessantly recurring, but futile.
topics: human-sciences
mysticism
mythology
philosophy
sciences
glosses: Relating to Sisyphus.
Derived terms: Sisyphean labour
site
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: sīt
ipa: /saɪt/
rhymes: -aɪt
homophone: cite
homophone: sight
Forms: form: sites
form: siting
form: sited
form: sited
form: scite
Etymology: From Middle English site, from Anglo-Norman site, from Latin situs (“position, place, site”), from sinere (“to put, lay, set down, usually let, suffer, permit”). Doublet of sitio and situs.
Senses: examples: text: The U.K. government is dusting off an alternative plan to site the center at a military outfit such as Porton Down.
text: A reassessment of the requirements of the gold mining industry, including uranium production, for the next few years has revealed the urgent necessity for the provision of additional power, and steps have been taken to site and plan a new station.
ref: 1835, Mining Journal:
text: 1872, Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Transactions of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, p. 24,
For this reason it was found convenient to site pump rooms between groups of cargo tanks.
text: The old staple of coal is a declining traffic; and what remains tends to be hauled a shorter distance, as new power stations are sited closer to coalfields.
ref: 1961 October, “Editorial: The importance of the "Roadrailer"”, in Trains Illustrated, page 577:
text: It is difficult to gauge current public attitudes to nuclear power in industrialized countries because there have been few efforts to site and construct new plants in the last twenty years.
ref: 2006, Mark Jaccard, Sustainable Fossil Fuels: The Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean And Enduring Energy, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 22:
text: Fury at plan to site homeless hostel near top Capital school.
ref: 2006, The Scotsman (15 Dec 06):
text: […] they have not expanded so far federal permitting authority to site and permit transmission lines that are important for interstate commerce.
ref: 2022 September 20, Ezra Klein, quoting Jesse Jenkins, “Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Jesse Jenkins”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: To situate or place a building or construction project.
skate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /skeɪt/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: skates
form: skait
form: skait
Etymology: Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), related to *skakan (“to shake, swing”).
Senses: glosses: A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
glosses: Ellipsis of ice skate.
glosses: Ellipsis of roller skate.
examples: text: There's time for a quick skate before dinner.
glosses: The act of skateboarding
examples: text: The boys had a skate every morning when the lake was frozen.
glosses: The act of roller skating or ice skating
topics: rail-transport
railways
transport
qualifier: chiefly Bicol
glosses: A makeshift handcar.
skate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /skeɪt/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: skates
form: skating
form: skated
form: skated
form: skait
form: skait
Etymology: Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), related to *skakan (“to shake, swing”).
Senses: glosses: To move along a surface (ice or ground) using skates.
glosses: To skateboard.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
skiing
sports
glosses: To use the skating technique.
glosses: To get away with something; to be acquitted of a crime for which one is manifestly guilty.
examples: text: Addressing a short pass from Henderson, he always felt too smart for Mykola Matviyenko, taking a step to lure him one way; dropping his shoulder and skating in the other direction, further inside.
ref: March 26 2023, David Hytner, “Kane and Bukayo Saka combine against Ukraine for England’s perfect Euros start”, in The Guardian:
glosses: To move smoothly and easily.
Derived terms: sense: from Etymology 1
word: bobskate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: clap skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: figure skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: flapper skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: get one's skates on
sense: from Etymology 1
word: hockey skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: ice-skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: in-line skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: parlour skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: quad skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: rink skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: roller-skate
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate-around
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate around
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skateboard
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate by
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate key
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate on
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate one's lane
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate on thin ice
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate over
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skatepark
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate punk
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skater
sense: from Etymology 1
word: skate skiing
skate
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /skeɪt/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: skait
Etymology: Back-formation from Dutch schaats, from Middle Dutch schāetse, from Old Northern French escache (“a stilt, trestle”) (compare French échasse and English scatch), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *skakkjā (“stilt”, literally “thing that moves”), related to *skakan (“to shake, swing”).
Senses: topics: hobbies
lifestyle
skiing
sports
glosses: Pertaining to the technique of skating.
skate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /skeɪt/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: skates
form: skate
form: skait
form: skait
Etymology: From Middle English skat, scate (also schat), from Old Norse skata (“skate”). Cognate with Icelandic skata (“skate, ray”), Norwegian skate (“skate”).
Senses: examples: text: The fishermen crowding in the cafés were also waiting for the end of the storm, when the fish, reassured, would rise to the surface after the bait. Soles, hog fish and skate were returning from their nocturnal expeditions. Day was now breaking.
ref: 1952, Nikos Kazantzakis, chapter 1, in Carl Wildman, transl., Zorba the Greek, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, translation of Βίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά [Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá], →ISBN, page 3:
roman: Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá
text: Other deep creatures now being harvested or targeted as seafood include rattails, skates, squid, red crabs, orange roughy, black oreos, smooth oreos, hoki, blue ling, southern blue whiting, sablefish, black scabbard fish and spiny dogfish.
ref: 1995 December 26, William J. Broad, “Creatures of the Deep Find Their Way to the Table”, in The New York Times:
text: I opt for skate, which comes with a Champagne sauce, and a glass of Californian Pinot Gris.
ref: 2025 September 13, Daniel Thomas, “Lunch with the FT: Shonda Rhimes”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 3:
glosses: A fish of the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea (rays) which inhabit most seas. Skates generally have small heads with protruding muzzles, and wide fins attached to a flat body.
Derived terms: barndoor skate
bottlenose skate
ghost skate
mavis skate
mud skate
skate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /skeɪt/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: skates
form: skait
form: skait
Etymology: Origin uncertain, but probably related to skite.
Senses: glosses: A worn-out horse.
glosses: Alternative form of skite (“a mean or contemptible person”).
Derived terms: cheapskate
labor skate
skimp
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /skɪmp/
rhymes: -ɪmp
Forms: form: skimps
form: skimping
form: skimped
form: skimped
Etymology: Perhaps of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną (“to skip, dance, gesture, mock”). Cognate with Icelandic skimpa (“to scoff at, scorn”), dialectal Swedish skimpa (“to skip, dance”), Faroese skumpa (“to shove, bump”), German schimpfen (“to grumble, scold”), Dutch schimpen (“to mock, make fun of, scold”). Possibly distantly related to change.
Senses: examples: text: I thought Adie was only skimpin' me.
glosses: To mock, deride, scorn, scold, make fun of.
skimp
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /skɪmp/
rhymes: -ɪmp
Forms: form: skimps
form: skimping
form: skimped
form: skimped
Etymology: Probably related to scamp and scrimp.
Senses: examples: text: I got out my wallet and let him have a look at my licenses, detective and driver's. He didn't skimp it, being a lawyer.
ref: 1955 October, Rex Stout, “Die Like a Dog”, in Three Witnesses, Bantam, published 1994, →ISBN, page 159:
glosses: To slight; to do carelessly; to scamp.
examples: text: The temptation to skimp examinations and maintenance procedures, to save time or overcome staff shortages, must be resisted, and supervisors must insist on strict adherence to maintenance schedules and quality of workmanship.
ref: 1964 January, “The maintenance of B.R. diesel-electric locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 54:
text: Apple’s investment bought something. Its shows feel professional. They look like premium products that no one skimped on.
ref: 2024 April 27, James Poniewozik, “The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: To make insufficient allowance for; to scant; to scrimp.
glosses: To save; to be parsimonious or stingy.
Derived terms: skimp and save
Related terms: skimpflation
skimpily
skimpy
skimp
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /skɪmp/
rhymes: -ɪmp
Forms: form: more skimp
form: most skimp
Etymology: Probably related to scamp and scrimp.
Senses: glosses: Scanty.
skimp
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /skɪmp/
rhymes: -ɪmp
Forms: form: skimps
Etymology: Probably related to scamp and scrimp.
Senses: examples: text: I remembered how fierce it hurt and how it blistered. All that pain from just a skimp of flesh.
ref: 2007, George Ella Lyon, With a Hammer for my Heart, page 192:
glosses: A skimpy or insubstantial thing, especially a piece of clothing.
examples: text: While presenting a rundown of the sexiest soap stars in the world in this week's ZOO, Hollyoaks' Gemma Atkinson very kindly stripped down to her skimps herself.
ref: 2007, Zoo Today:
glosses: Underwear.
skive
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈskaɪv/
rhymes: -aɪv
Forms: form: skives
form: skiving
form: skived
form: skived
Etymology: Probably from French esquiver (“slink away”), from Middle French esquiver (“to escape”), from Spanish esquivar (“to avoid, reject, elude”), from esquivo (“contemptuous, loathsome”), itself from Old French eschiver, of East Germanic origin, from Gothic *𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍃 (*skiuhs, “afraid, barefaced”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“afraid, frightened”). Cognate with English shy, eschew.
Senses: examples: text: Truancies, rather bewilderingly, have risen among children on the programme; the government hopes this is because children skive more as they get older.
ref: 2006, The Economist, Young offenders: Arrested development:
text: Work experience as an arsey teenager is pretty straightforward: disappear into the storeroom, smoke a few cigarettes, text your mates and watch the minute hand tick slowly by. If there's nowhere suitable to hide, all you need is a vacant computer and you can chat to your skiving associate in the building next door.
ref: 2007 April 30, Jon Bentham, “How to...... do work experience”, in The Guardian:
glosses: To avoid one's lessons or work (chiefly at school or university); shirk.
Synonyms: word: skive off
word: skip
word: play hooky
word: play truant
skive
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈskaɪv/
rhymes: -aɪv
Forms: form: skives
Etymology: Probably from French esquiver (“slink away”), from Middle French esquiver (“to escape”), from Spanish esquivar (“to avoid, reject, elude”), from esquivo (“contemptuous, loathsome”), itself from Old French eschiver, of East Germanic origin, from Gothic *𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍃 (*skiuhs, “afraid, barefaced”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“afraid, frightened”). Cognate with English shy, eschew.
Senses: examples: text: Mr Smith's history classes are a total skive.
glosses: Something very easy, where one can slack off without penalty.
examples: text: I got the bus to school, and the driver gave me the eye, thinking I was on the skive, and I started to explain that there was something up with my head, but then I couldn't be bothered.
ref: 2007, Anthony McGowan, Henry Tumour, →ISBN, page 8:
text: Another school skive! I only realised this when my dentist's receptionist told me to expect a fair wait till I could be seen.
ref: 2011, Catherine Forde, Sugarcoated, →ISBN:
text: But at least they preserved the idea that books were important and that reading and writing were more than just a skive for people too weedy to hack at one another with swords.
ref: 2011, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen, Terry Pratchett, The Science Of Discworld II: The Globe, →ISBN, page 202:
glosses: An act of avoiding lessons or work.
skive
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈskaɪv/
rhymes: -aɪv
Forms: form: skives
Etymology: Probably from Dutch schijf (“slice”), probably influenced by shive. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skībǭ (“a shaving; slice”).
Cognate to English shive, German Scheibe (“slice”), Old Norse skífa (“to cut into slices, slice”).
Senses: examples: text: This accident sometimes occasions a flaw in the diamond, and always damages the skive, by tearing up its surface.
ref: 1820, Robert Jameson, A System of Mineralogy, in which Minerals are Arranged According to the Natural History Method, page 18:
text: When the cut diamond is fixed in the dop, and that is adjusted in the tongs, the stone is placed upon the skive, which, being set in motion, if the diamond be examined in the course of from ten to fifteen minutes time, the facet will appear to have lost a part of the gray colour it had obtained from the process of cutting, and a brilliant lustre or polish will begin to appear, which is solely produced from the imbedded powder with which the surface of the skive is charged.
ref: 1827, Thomas Gill, Gill's technological Repository; or Discoveries and Improvements in the Useful Arts, page 10:
text: There is room on the skive for three or four Diamonds at the same time ; and, to give each its proper share of attention, is as much as one person can well manage.
ref: 1838, Lewis Feuchtwanger, A Treatise on Gems: In Reference to Their Practical and Scientific Value, page 36:
glosses: A rotating iron disk coated with oil and diamond dust used to polish the facets of a diamond.
examples: text: There would be no need for medial heel skive and the heel cup can be of normal depth.
ref: 2004, Alon Marcus, Foundations for Integrative Musculoskeletal Medicine, →ISBN, page 534:
text: The angle and the depth of skives should be specified.
ref: 2010, Paul Frowen, Maureen O'Donnell, J. Gordon Burrow, Neale's Disorders of the Foot, →ISBN, page 446:
text: The skive may be gradually brought to a "feather edge" in such a manner that when turned in it may, together with the leather of the body, be of the substance of the original.
ref: 2013, F. Y. Golding, The Manufacture Of Boots And Shoes, →ISBN:
glosses: An angled cut or bevel at the edge of something.
skive
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈskaɪv/
rhymes: -aɪv
Forms: form: skives
form: skiving
form: skived
form: skived
Etymology: Probably from Dutch schijf (“slice”), probably influenced by shive. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skībǭ (“a shaving; slice”).
Cognate to English shive, German Scheibe (“slice”), Old Norse skífa (“to cut into slices, slice”).
Senses: examples: text: In the leather industry skive has another connotation, concerning splitting the skin perpendicularly to its thickness into thin layers. Imagine now being able to skive at the nanoscale.
ref: 2009, Geoffrey A. Ozin, André C. Arsenault, Ludovico Cademartiri, Nanochemistry: A Chemical Approach to Nanomaterials, →ISBN, page 99:
text: Following the photo above from top to bottom, round off each end and skive the flesh side then using an old chisel the same width of the lace, cut a hole – open this out and thread each lace into the opposing hole – pull tight gently and flatten with a rubber hammer or other item, but gently.
ref: 2011, Paul Carpenter, The Leather lace Bullwhip, →ISBN, page 31:
text: When two pieces of leather have to be overlapped they must be suitably skived.
ref: 2013, F. Y. Golding, The Manufacture Of Boots And Shoes, →ISBN:
text: An oblique view of the operative field may predispose the surgeon to skive unilaterally toward a vertebral artery.
ref: 2013, Daniel H. Kim, Alexander R. Vaccaro, Curtis A. Dickman, Surgical Anatomy and Techniques to the Spine E-Book, →ISBN, page 135:
glosses: To pare or shave off the rough or thick parts of.
Derived terms: skiver
slack
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæk/
rhymes: -æk
Forms: form: slacker
form: slackest
Etymology: From Middle English slak, from Old English slæc (“slack”), from Proto-Germanic *slakaz. For sense of coal dust, compare slag.
Senses: examples: text: a slack rope
glosses: Lax; not tense; not firmly extended.
raw_tags: normally said of a rope
examples: text: a slack hand
glosses: Weak; not holding fast.
examples: text: a slack oven
glosses: Moderate in some capacity.
Moderately warm.
examples: text: a slack wind
glosses: Moderate in some capacity.
Moderate in speed.
examples: text: slack in duty or service
text: The Lord is not ſlacke cõcerning his promiſe (as ſome men count ſlackneſſe)[…].
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Peter 3:9, column 2:
glosses: Lacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager.
examples: text: Business is slack.
text: “They know our boats will stand up to their work,” said Willison, “and that counts for a good deal. A low estimate from us doesn't mean scamped work, but just for that we want to keep the yard busy over a slack time.”
ref: 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 3, in Well Tackled!:
text: In the slack hours the service is maintained by single motor-coaches.
ref: 1940 December, “Notes and News: Waterloo & City Tube Modernisation”, in Railway Magazine, page 668:
glosses: Not active or busy, successful, or violent.
examples: text: the slack capacity of an oil pipeline
glosses: Excess; surplus to requirements.
glosses: Vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music.
topics: human-sciences
linguistics
sciences
glosses: Lax.
Synonyms: sense: not violent, rapid, or pressing
word: slow
sense: not violent, rapid, or pressing
word: moderate
sense: not violent, rapid, or pressing
word: easy
Derived terms: slack Alice
slack bob
slacken
slack fill
slack-handed
slack-jawed
slack-key
slackly
slackness
slack-rope
slack space
slack variable
slack-water
slack water
slackwater
slack
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæk/
rhymes: -æk
Etymology: From Middle English slak, from Old English slæc (“slack”), from Proto-Germanic *slakaz. For sense of coal dust, compare slag.
Senses: examples: text: slack dried hops
glosses: Slackly.
slack
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæk/
rhymes: -æk
Forms: form: slacks
form: slacking
form: slacked
form: slacked
Etymology: From Middle English slakken, slaken, from Old English slacian, from Proto-Germanic *slakōną (“to slack, slacken”).
Senses: examples: text: I maruell I heare no nevves of Dromio, either hee ſlackes the matter, or betraies his Maiſter, I dare not motion anie thing to Stellio, till I knovv vvhat my boy hath don, Ile hunt him out, if the loiterſacke be gone ſpringing into a Tauerne, Ile fetch him reeling out.
ref: c. 1590 (date written), [John Lyly], Mother Bombie. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii:
text: In this business of growing rich, poor men […] should slack their pace.
ref: 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
glosses: To slacken.
examples: text: Ne did ſhe let dull ſleepe once to relent, / Nor wearineſſe to ſlack her haſt, but fled / Euer alike,[…].
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 494:
glosses: To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
examples: text: Lime slacks.
glosses: To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.
examples: text: I can't afford to slack. This job is all I have!
glosses: To refuse to work as hard as one is supposed to.
Derived terms: slack off
slack up
slack
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæk/
rhymes: -æk
Forms: form: slacks
Etymology: Either from the adjective in Etymology 1 or the verb in Etymology 2.
Senses: examples: text: This pitfall, beginning in February and finishing in May, resulted in a drop of about 3 ft. in the platform level; during this period it was necessary to level the track three times weekly, and impose a service slack of 15 m.p.h. The subsidence appears now to have finished, and normal speed is once again permitted.
ref: 1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: Pitfalls”, in Railway Magazine, page 456:
text: The train runs slowly with frequent slacks for bridge and culvert repairs. At one point occurs the changeover from left- to right-hand running.
ref: 1949 September and October, “The "Nord Express"”, in Railway Magazine, page 336:
text: A 40 m.p.h. slack at West Ruislip, quickly followed by a 30 m.p.h. slack at Gerrards Cross, increased our lateness to four minutes at High Wycombe.
ref: 1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 103:
topics: rail-transport
railways
transport
glosses: A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place.
slack
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæk/
rhymes: -æk
Forms: form: slacks
Etymology: From Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki (“a slope”). Cognate with Icelandic slakki, Norwegian slakke.
Senses: examples: text: Red Ringan sped, and the spearmen led, Up Goranberry Slack; Aye, many a wight, unmatched in fight, Who never more came back. And bloody set the westering sun, And bloody rose he up; […]
ref: 1812, Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border: Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads Collected in the Southern Counties of Scotland, with a Few of Modern Date Founded Upon Local Tradition, page 246:
text: "I see some folk coming through the slack yonder, […]"
ref: 1871, Walter Scott, Waverly Novels, page 159:
text: […] southward, by the slack of the hill (2,500 feet), west of Ferrowie, (2,628 feet), on the County boundary, and descending by the Capel-burn to the South Esk,[…]
ref: 1875, Alexander Smith, A New History of Aberdeenshire, page 690:
text: Sheelings : 1. Lies South of the Infields in a Slack betwixt two Hills 2. Lies at the South End of the Loch of Loch Beanoch […]
ref: 1960, John Home, Survey of Assynt:
glosses: A valley, or small, shallow dell; a sag or saddle in a ridge.
glosses: A flat-bottomed, hollow zone within a sand-dune system that has developed over impervious strata, sometimes due to erosion or blow-out of the dune system; its flat base level is therefore close to or at the permanent water-table level, and therefore has rich, marshy flora, with Salix species (willows) as typical woody colonisers.
slack
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæk/
rhymes: -æk
Etymology: Of unknown origin. Possibly related to Middle Dutch slacke or Middle Low German slecke. Doublet of slag.
Senses: examples: text: One of the important improvements of recent years has been attained by mixing the peat pulp as it passes through the grinding machine, with other inflammable materials, such as bituminous coal dust, or slack […]
ref: 1905, Colliery Engineer, volume 25, page 107:
text: It had rather a woolly and uneven beat and was inclined to prime, but there was no trouble with steaming even though the tender contained mostly small slack and dust.
ref: 1959 April, P. Ransome-Wallis, “The Southern in Trouble on the Kent Coast”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 220:
topics: business
mining
synonyms: culm
glosses: Small coal; coal dust.
Derived terms: nutty slack
slack tub
slag
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæɡ/
rhymes: -æɡ
Forms: form: slags
form: slagging
form: slagged
form: slagged
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle Low German slagge, slaggen (“slag, dross”), from Old Saxon *slaggo, from Proto-West Germanic *slaggō, from Proto-Germanic *slaggô, from Proto-Germanic *slagōną (“to strike”) + *-gô (diminutive suffix). Compare Middle Low German slāgen (“to strike”), since originally the splinters struck off from the metal by hammering, from *slagōn, from Proto-West Germanic *slagōn. Compare also Old Saxon slegi, from Proto-West Germanic *slagi.
See also Dutch slak, German Schlacke, Swedish slagg; also compare English slay.
Senses: glosses: To produce slag.
glosses: To become slag; to agglomerate when heated below the fusion point.
glosses: To reduce to slag.
examples: text: If you slag off the other person, then—to the extent that your child identifies with that person as their parent—you are slagging off a part of them.
ref: 2010, Courtenay Young, Help Yourself Towards Mental Health, page 344:
text: Rather than wait for her to start slagging my mother, I would disappear for a couple of days and inevitably, because I was getting no love at home, I began to stray once again.
ref: 2011, John Davies, Slings and Arrows, page 109:
synonyms: slag off
glosses: To talk badly about; to malign or denigrate (someone).
glosses: To make fun of; to take the piss (tease, ridicule or mock).
glosses: To spit.
Derived terms: slag about
slagging rag
slag off
slake
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /sleɪk/
rhymes: -eɪk
Forms: form: slakes
form: slaking
form: slaked
form: slaked
Etymology: Probably connected with Icelandic sleikja, "to lick", and German schlecken (“to lick”).
Senses: glosses: To besmear.
slake
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sleɪk/
rhymes: -eɪk
Forms: form: slakes
Etymology: Probably connected with Icelandic sleikja, "to lick", and German schlecken (“to lick”).
Senses: glosses: A sloppy mess.
slake
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sleɪk/
rhymes: -eɪk
Forms: form: slakes
Senses: examples: text: The slakes are waste lands bordering on the seashore, which are covered with water when the tide comes in. The word is common in Northumberland, where the slakes between the Mainland and Holy Island, are much frequented by sportsmen[…]
ref: 1868, James Maidment, A Book of Scotish Pasquils. 1568-1715, page 4:
text: A "slake" of similar character, but of much less extent, was, until recently, found within the estuary of the Tyne. This is […] "Jarrow Slake" [...] frequented by great numbers of aquatic birds.
ref: 1874, Natural History Transactions of Northumberland and Durham:
text: [Concerning] Fenham Slakes, Mr Bolam procured from the Rev. W. W. F. Keeling, of the vicarage, Holy Island, the information that "Thomas Bowey, over at the Beacons, shot on the slakes a young one, rather small for a Swan[…]"
ref: 1879, Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (Scotland), History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, Instituted September 22, 1831, page 530:
glosses: A slack, a tidal wetland.
slam
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: slams
Etymology: From Middle English *slammen (not recorded), apparently from a Scandinavian source ultimately from Old Norse slæma, slœma (“to slam, swing a weapon, strike an object out of reach”), related to Old Norse slamra, slambra (“to slam”). Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål slamre (“to slam”), Swedish slamra (“to pound, beat, make a clatter, rattle”), Norwegian Nynorsk slamra (“to sway, dangle”).
Senses: examples: text: How many slams in an old screen door? / Depends how loud you shut it.
ref: 1981, Shel Silverstein, “How Many, How Much”, in A Light in the Attic, Harper & Row:
glosses: A sudden impact or blow.
examples: text: The slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam.
ref: 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 35, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
glosses: The shock and noise produced by violently closing a door or other object.
topics: ball-games
basketball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A slam dunk.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
tennis
glosses: One of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.
examples: text: I don't mean this as a slam, but you can be really impatient sometimes.
text: “Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: An insult.
glosses: The yellow iron silicate produced in alum works as a waste product.
glosses: A poetry slam.
examples: text: Regular friendship books had a variety of variations, such as slams, crams, and decos.
ref: 2017, Mark Duffett, Fan Identities and Practices in Context: Dedicated to Music, page 194:
text: Pen pals also make and pass around friendship books, slams and crams. In recent years, pen pal correspondence with prison inmates has gained acceptance on the Internet.
ref: 2019, Manjit Bal, Lovingly Yours - Penpals:
glosses: A slambook.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A subgenre of death metal with elements of hardcore punk focusing on midtempo rhythms, breakdowns and palm-muted riffs.
Derived terms: bodyslam
data slam
rock slam
slam-bang
slam-clicker
slam-dance
slam gun
slam piece
slam pig
slam poem
slam poet
slam poetry
slam
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: slams
Etymology: Unknown and long-speculated, though perhaps at least reinforced by Etymology 1. Doublet of chelem.
Senses: glosses: A type of card game, also called ruff and honours.
synonyms: spit
glosses: A card game, played all at once without separate turns, in which players attempt to get rid of their cards as quickly as possible according to certain rules.
topics: card-games
games
glosses: Losing or winning all the tricks in a game.
topics: bridge
games
glosses: A bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump.
examples: text: In the 125 Grand Prix, I. D. Fuller (4) made it a grand slam by setting the fastest time trial, winning his heat and getting the checkered flag in the final.
ref: 1955 August, “Carolina Grand Prix Benefits Crippled Children”, in American Motorcyclist, volume 9, number 8, page 21:
text: I have never been a fan of tennis, I'll be honest, but even I can appreciate a great tennis player when I see one, and one of the finest of all was the American champion, Andre Agassi. Agassi was at one time number one in the world. He won eight grand slam titles (including a Wimbledon title) and a gold medal in the Olympic Games.
ref: 2012, Mark Stibbe, I am Your Father: What every heart needs to know, →ISBN, page 178:
text: Musso then passed Collins and, only briefly, it looked as though there might be a Ferrari grand slam.
ref: 2014, Anthony Pritchard, Grand Prix Ferrari: The Years of Enzo Ferrari’s Power, 1948-1980, →ISBN:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Winning all (or all but one) of the available, major or specified events in a given year or sports season.
Derived terms: golden slam
grand slam
little slam
small slam
slam
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: slams
form: slamming
form: slammed
form: slammed
Etymology: Unknown and long-speculated, though perhaps at least reinforced by Etymology 1. Doublet of chelem.
Senses: examples: text: D having seven Spades in his Hand wins them, and consequently slams A and B
ref: 1742, Edmond Hoyle, A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist:
topics: card-games
games
glosses: To defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand.
topics: bridge
games
glosses: To make a slam bid.
slam
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: slams
Etymology: Compare Dutch slomp, German Schlampe.
Senses: glosses: A shambling fellow.
slap
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæp/
rhymes: -æp
Forms: form: slaps
Etymology: From Middle English slappen, of uncertain origin, possibly imitative. Compare Low German Slappe (“slap”), whence also German Schlappe (“defeat”). Compare also Italian sleppa (“slap”).
Senses: examples: text: He gave me a friendly slap on the back as a sign of camaraderie.
glosses: A blow, especially one given with the open hand, or with something broad and flat.
examples: text: the slap of my feet on the bathroom tiles
glosses: A sharp percussive sound like that produced by such a blow.
examples: text: Havens goes into the terrific Freedom for an encore, which will turn out to be a highlight of the movie; its chopped guitar and conga slaps pre-empt late 90s R&B.
ref: 2019 August 15, Bob Stanley, “'Groovy, groovy, groovy': listening to Woodstock 50 years on – all 38 discs”, in The Guardian:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: The percussive sound produced in slap bass playing.
examples: text: Well, she schlumphed her Vera down the screech at a rate of knots, zhooshed up the riah, checked the slap in the mirror behind the bar, straightened up one ogle fake riah that had come adrift, and bold as brass orderlied over as fast as she could manage in those bats and, in her best lips, asked, if she could parker the omi a bevvy.
ref: 1997, James Gardiner, Who's a Pretty Boy Then?, page 123:
text: If you had too much slap on when you went out . . . your mates say too much slap on your ecaf. Yeah. Oh really girl? Yes . . . Go in the lavs here and have a look.
ref: Quoted in 2006, Matt Houlbrook, Queer London (page 151)
glosses: Makeup; cosmetics.
examples: text: […] which seek to retake public space for their own expression, using graffiti, stickering, 'slaps' and street art to dissent from the commercialisation of the public sphere.
ref: 2019, Saskia Hufnagel, Duncan Chappell, The Palgrave Handbook on Art Crime, page 859:
glosses: An eye-catching sticker used in street art.
Derived terms: back slap
back-slapping
bitch-slap
bitch slap
butt-slapping
chain slap
dickslap
dope slap
go slap off on
happy slap
happy slapping
Iberian slap
knee-slapping
pimp slap
pimp-slap
slap and tickle
slap-back
slap bet
slap bracelet
slapdown
slap fight
slaphappy
slap-headed
slap in the face
slap mark
slap marker
slap on the arm
slap on the back
slap on the hand
slap on the wrist
slap print
slap shot
slap skate
thigh-slapping
tight slap
trout-slap
trout slap
turkey slap
slap
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæp/
rhymes: -æp
Forms: form: slaps
form: slapping
form: slapped
form: slapped
Etymology: From Middle English slappen, of uncertain origin, possibly imitative. Compare Low German Slappe (“slap”), whence also German Schlappe (“defeat”). Compare also Italian sleppa (“slap”).
Senses: examples: text: She slapped him in response to the insult.
text: Mrs. Flanders rose, slapped her coat this side and that to get the sand off, and picked up her black parasol.
ref: 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC:
glosses: To give a slap to.
examples: text: He slapped the reins against the horse's back.
glosses: To cause something to strike soundly.
examples: text: The rain slapped against the window-panes.
glosses: To strike soundly against something.
examples: text: The band's new single slaps.
text: There are some cinematic elements, but at the end of the day, the album fucking slaps.
ref: 2019, “Glass Battles”, in PT Music Watch, number 1, page 35:
text: Also I will never get tired of the song "Motion Sickness" by Phoebe Bridgers. Shit slaps.
ref: 2019 April, Gloria Perez, “Your Things”, in Your Mag, page 74:
text: 2016's 'Girls Like Me' still slaps to this day.
ref: 2019 November, Elly Watson, “The Great 2019 Debate”, in DIY, page 59:
synonyms: word: bang
word: eat
word: rule
word: rock
word: bang
word: devour
word: eat
word: eat and leave no crumbs
word: excel
word: go hard
word: kick
word: kick ass
word: rock
word: rule
word: shine
word: slap
word: slay
glosses: To be excellent, especially when relating to music.
examples: text: We'd better slap some fresh paint on that wall.
text: Louise Belcher: "On Monday there was supposed to be some big schoolboard inspection or something, so instead of cleaning the place up, what does the principal do? He panics. He and the janitor and the janitor's brother slap a wall where the door used to be."
Gene Belcher: "Wall slap."
ref: 2018, “The Secret Ceramics Room of Secrets”, in Bob's Burgers:
glosses: To place, to put carelessly.
examples: text: I was slapped with a parking fine.
glosses: To impose a penalty, etc. on (someone).
examples: text: With no drums, Black began slapping his bass to keep time while Moore's guitar leaped in and out of the melody line.
ref: 2007, Jon Paulien, The Gospel from Patmos:
glosses: To play slap bass on (an instrument).
Derived terms: slap around
slap bellies
slap down
slap leather
slap my ass and call me Judy
slap my ass and call me Sally
slappable
slappee
slapper
slap someone around
slap someone five
slap someone's wrist
slap together
slap-up
wrist-slap
slap
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæp/
rhymes: -æp
Etymology: From Middle English slappen, of uncertain origin, possibly imitative. Compare Low German Slappe (“slap”), whence also German Schlappe (“defeat”). Compare also Italian sleppa (“slap”).
Senses: examples: text: He tossed the file down slap in the middle of the table.
text: You just take my orders, Cap’n Hawkins, and we’ll sail slap in and be done with it.
ref: 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
text: They called the tom-cat to the trap, / Who molrowed as he smelt at the door, O— / Opened his mouth and swallowed him slap, / All the while most profanely he swore, O!
ref: 1864, Tony Pastor, John F. Poole, Tony Pastor's Complete Budget of Comic Songs, page 63:
glosses: Exactly, precisely
Synonyms: just
right
slap bang
smack dab
exactly
Derived terms: slap-bang
slap
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /slæp/
rhymes: -æp
Forms: form: more slap
form: most slap
Etymology: From Middle English slappen, of uncertain origin, possibly imitative. Compare Low German Slappe (“slap”), whence also German Schlappe (“defeat”). Compare also Italian sleppa (“slap”).
Senses: examples: text: These cookies are slap.
glosses: Very good, excellent, amazing.
Related terms: english: etymologically unrelated
translation: etymologically unrelated
word: slap chip
slapper
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈslæpɚ/
ipa: /ˈslæpə/
rhymes: -æpə(ɹ)
Forms: form: slappers
Etymology: From slap + -er. For senses 2 and 3, the OED tentatively quotes the Bloomsbury Dictionary of Contemporary Slang: "This working class term from East London and Essex is probably a corruption of shlepper or schlepper, a word of Yiddish origin, one of whose meanings is a slovenly or immoral woman."
Senses: glosses: One who, or that which, slaps.
examples: text: A fella looking dapper / And he's sittin' with a slapper / Then I see it's a pimp / And his crack whore
ref: 2006, Lily Allen, Iyiola Babalola, Darren Lewis, Tommy McCook, “LDN”, in Alright, Still, performed by Lily Allen:
text: You've got a photo of the dead grandad, no pic of the blonde slapper?
ref: 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 167:
glosses: A prostitute.
glosses: A woman of loose morals.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: A type of detonator which uses a powerful surge of electricity to vaporize a thin metal foil, propelling a larger piece of plastic film at a speed high enough to detonate an explosive upon impact.
glosses: Anything monstrous; a whopper.
Derived terms: ankle slapper
happy slapper
Kappa slapper
knee slapper
tank-slapper
tank slapper
thigh-slapper
slater
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsleɪtɚ/
ipa: /ˈsleɪtə/
rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)
Forms: form: slaters
Etymology: From Middle English sclater, equivalent to slate + -er.
Senses: glosses: One who lays slates, or whose occupation is to slate buildings.
glosses: Any terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Porcellio and allied genera; a woodlouse.
examples: text: Plain speaking, now and then, is very necessary. The author will call the critic a “blackguard slater," of course, but he need not be a blackguard. Ferocity of language only hurts his effect.
ref: 1901, The Critic, volume 39, page 562:
glosses: A harsh critic; one who slates or denigrates something.
Derived terms: taxonomic: Ligia oceanica
word: sea slater
Related terms: butcher boy
sowbug
woodlouse
roly-poly
sai bug
saisai gnat
slayer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsleɪə/
rhymes: -eɪə(ɹ)
Forms: form: slayers
form: slayor
Etymology: From Middle English slear, sleere, sleare, slaare, dissimilated from Old English slaga (“slayer”), equivalent to slay + -er.
Senses: glosses: A killer; a murderer; someone who slays.
glosses: A butcher.
Derived terms: brother-slayer
dragonslayer
father-slayer
manslayer
self-slayer
slayer rule
slayer statute