Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense glides, present participle gliding, past tense, past participle glided
1. verb
If you glide somewhere, you move silently and in a smooth and effortless way.
Waiters glide between tightly packed tables bearing trays of pasta. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: slip, sail, slide, ghost More Synonyms of glide
2. verb
When birds or aeroplanes glide, they float on air currents.
... the albatross, which glides effortlessly and gracefully behind the yacht. [VERB preposition/adverb]
[Also VERB]
Synonyms: float, fly, soar, skim More Synonyms of glide
More Synonyms of glide
glide in British English
(ɡlaɪd)
verb
1.
to move or cause to move easily without jerks or hesitations
to glide in a boat down the river
2. (intransitive)
to pass slowly or without perceptible change
to glide into sleep
3.
to cause (an aircraft) to come in to land without engine power, or (of an aircraft) to land in this way
4. (intransitive)
to fly a glider
5. (intransitive) music
to execute a portamento from one note to another
6. (intransitive) phonetics
to produce a glide
noun
7.
a smooth easy movement
8.
a.
any of various dances featuring gliding steps
b.
a step in such a dance
9.
a manoeuvre in which an aircraft makes a gentle descent without engine power
See also glidepath
10.
the act or process of gliding
11. music
a.
a long portion of tubing slipped in and out of a trombone to increase its length for the production of lower harmonic series
See also valve (sense 5)
b.
a portamento or slur
12. phonetics
a.
a transitional sound as the speech organs pass from the articulatory position of one speech sound to that of the next, as the (w) sound in some pronunciations of the word doing
b. another word for semivowel
13. crystallography another name for slip1 (sense 33)
14. cricket another word for glance1 (sense 11)
Derived forms
glidingly (ˈglidingly)
adverb
Word origin
Old English glīdan; related to Old High German glītan
glide in American English
(glaɪd)
verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈglided or ˈgliding
1.
to flow or move smoothly and easily, as in skating
2.
to move by or pass gradually and almost unnoticed, as time
3. Aeronautics
a.
to fly in a glider
b.
to descend with little or no engine power, using airflow to control lift
4. Music and Phonetics
to make a glide
verb transitive
5.
to cause to glide
noun
6.
the act of gliding; smooth, easy flow or movement
7. US
a small disk or ball, as of nylon, attached to the underside of furniture legs, etc. to allow easy sliding
8. Music; Loosely
a slur, portamento, or the like
9. Phonetics
a.
an intermediate sound produced in the transition of the speech organs from the position for one sound to that for another
b.
the nonsyllabic vowel in a diphthong
see also off-glide, on-glide
Word origin
ME gliden < OE glidan, akin to Ger gleiten, prob. < IE *ghlei-dh (< base *ĝhel-, to shine > glass, glow)
Examples of 'glide' in a sentence
glide
It's very matt but glides on easily.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This glides on easily and manages to keep lips looking conditioned.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The warm air glided over my skin.
Christianity Today (2000)
It glides on easily and helps intensify your eye colour.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Now we are promised we will be gliding on air.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He glided through the air and breezed past people.
The Sun (2014)
You see them cruising the skies in an effortless glide or perched on an eminence with their eyes busy.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It really does glide on easily.
The Sun (2009)
The graceful sweep of an albatross as it glides above mountainous waves and through torrential storms has amazed generations of sailors and naturalists.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The sky over Britain at present rarely fails to offer the sight of one gliding by.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Take a tourist boat and glide down the highway of European history.
The Sun (2009)
The first time a wandering albatross glides into view and regards the ship with its soft brown eyes is the stuff of dreams.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
People row boats because it's nice to make the boat glide.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The trainers were really bouncy and the Lycra suit felt like it glided through the air.
The Sun (2014)
A little beauty that glides on easily for smoky eyes with staying power.
The Sun (2014)
Seaside visitors looking at the seagulls often see a rather odd one gliding by on stiff, straight wings.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
You could tell from his run-up that he would bowl fast because he looked smooth and was gliding to the crease.
The Sun (2013)
Light and quickly absorbed, it glided on easily and in the morning my skin felt tighter and fresher than usual.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Bake for one hour, or until a knife inserted into the centre of the potato glides through easily with no resistance.
The Sun (2012)
In one he glided to an airfield at night, and in the other he ran off the end of a runway into a field.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He danced and glided, connecting with 100 punches and taking just three.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In an attempt to find dry land they shot off threads of silk into the wind and glided through the air, a phenomenon called ballooning.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But instead of effortless gliding, I panicked.
The Sun (2009)
I saw the boat glide over me and I felt it skim my head.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Word lists with
glide
terms used in aviation
In other languages
glide
British English: glide VERB
If you glide somewhere, you move silently and in a smooth and effortless way.
Waiters glide between tightly packed tables bearing trays of pasta.
American English: glide
Brazilian Portuguese: deslizar
Chinese: 滑行
European Spanish: deslizarse
French: glisser
German: gleiten
Italian: scivolare
Japanese: なめらかに動く
Korean: 미끄러지듯 움직이다
European Portuguese: deslizar
Latin American Spanish: deslizarse
All related terms of 'glide'
off-glide
a glide caused by the movement of the articulators away from their position in articulating the previous speech sound
on-glide
a glide immediately preceding a speech sound, for which the articulators are taking position
glide time
a system permitting flexibility of working hours at the beginning or end of the day, provided an agreed period of each day ( core time ) is spent at work
palais glide
a dance with high kicks and gliding steps in which performers link arms in a row
glidepath
the approach path of an aircraft when landing , usually defined by a radar beam
Chinese translation of 'glide'
glide
(ɡlaɪd)
vi
[person, snake]滑行 (huáxíng)
[bird, aeroplane]滑翔 (huáxiáng)
1 (verb)
Definition
to move easily and smoothly
Waiters glide between tightly packed tables.
Synonyms
slip
Time slipped by in silence.
sail
slide
She slipped and slid downhill on her backside.
ghost
skim
2 (verb)
Definition
to float on currents of air
the albatross which glides effortlessly behind the yacht
Synonyms
float
barges floating quietly by the grassy river banks
fly
The bird flew away.
soar
Buzzards soar overhead at a great height.
skim
seagulls skimming over the waves
3 (verb)
The royal ships glided past fjords and dramatic waterfalls.
Synonyms
sail
We got into the lift and sailed to the top floor.
run
He winced as he ran his hand over his ribs.
coast
I slipped into neutral gear and coasted down the slope.
skim
Additional synonyms
in the sense of coast
I slipped into neutral gear and coasted down the slope.
Synonyms
cruise,
sail,
drift,
taxi,
glide,
freewheel
in the sense of fly
Definition
to move through the air on wings or in an aircraft