slipped

Word Origin & History

early 14c., "to escape, to move softly and quickly," from an unrecorded Old English word or cognate Middle Low German slippen "to glide, slide," from Proto-Germanic *slipan (cf. Old High German slifan, Middle Dutch slippen, German schleifen "to glide, slide"), from PIE *sleib-, from root *(s)lei- "slimy, sticky, slippery" (see slime (n.)).

From mid-14c. with senses "lose one's footing," "slide out of place," "fall into error or fault." Sense of "pass unguarded or untaken" is from mid-15c. That of "slide, glide" is from 1520s. Transitive sense from 1510s; meaning "insert surreptitiously" is from 1680s. Related: Slipped; slipping. To slip up "make a mistake" is from 1855; to slip through the net "evade detection" is from 1902.

Example Sentences for slipped

Often it has been on the tip of my tongue, and then it slipped away from me.

Andrew Lanning slipped to the door and turned the key in the lock.

He whispered to the marshal that he would return, and slipped through the window.

He slipped to the door in turn with a step so noiseless that even Jud wondered.

He must have slipped his cousin's leash, for he was at the Nicaragua almost as soon as I was.

So the winter slipped away, and the spring with its sunshine followed.

Stoliker slipped the handcuffs into his pocket again, and mounted his horse.

That night he slipped through the dark, like a hyena pup, to Ringwood.

Linda picked it up, untied the string, and slipped off the wrapping.

She slipped into the dress and struggled with its many and intricate fastenings.

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Synonyms for slipped

verb fall; glide

Antonyms for slipped

More words related to slipped

foul up

noun. bungled situation, mistake

slipup

noun. error