slip

verb

/slɪp/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they slip	/slɪp/ /slɪp/
he / she / it slips	/slɪps/ /slɪps/
past simple slipped	/slɪpt/ /slɪpt/
past participle slipped	/slɪpt/ /slɪpt/
-ing form slipping	/ˈslɪpɪŋ/ /ˈslɪpɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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slide/fall

[intransitive] to slide a short distance by accident so that you fall or nearly fall

She slipped and landed flat on her back.
As I ran up the stairs, my foot slipped and I fell.
She got on her feet and ran towards the door, slipping and sliding.
slip on something He slipped on a bar of soap in the shower room.
slip over She slipped over on the ice and broke her leg.

out of position

[intransitive] to slide out of position or out of your hand

My hand slipped as I was slicing the bread and I cut myself.
+ adv./prep. His hat had slipped over one eye.
The fish slipped out of my hand.
The child slipped from his grasp and ran off.
(figurative) She was careful not to let her control slip.

go/put quickly

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to go somewhere quickly and quietly, especially without being noticed synonym creep

She slipped out of the house before the others were awake.
I slipped away before the end of the performance.
The ship slipped into the harbour at night.
A guard was posted at the door, in case anyone tried to slip in.
(figurative) She knew that time was slipping away.

[transitive] to put something somewhere quickly, quietly or secretly

slip something + adv./prep. Anna slipped her hand into his.
He slipped the letter back into its envelope.
He beat three defenders before slipping the ball past the goalkeeper.
She slipped her head around the door.
I managed to slip a few jokes into my speech.
I managed to slip in a few jokes.
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
slip something to somebody They'd slipped some money to the guards.
slip somebody something They'd slipped the guards some money.

become worse

[intransitive] to fall to a lower level; to become worse

Standards have slipped in the last few years.
His popularity has slipped recently.
The director never lets the tension slip.
That's three times she's beaten me—I must be slipping!
A defeat would see them slip down the rankings.
Already the Conservatives are slipping in the polls.
slip from something to something Pre-tax profits slipped from $3.9 million to $3.7 million,.

into difficult situation

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to pass into a particular state or situation, especially a difficult or unpleasant one

He began to slip into debt.
The patient had slipped into a coma.
We seem to have slipped behind schedule.

clothes on/off

[intransitive, transitive] to put clothes on or to take them off quickly and easily

+ adv./prep. to slip into/out of a dress
slip something + adv./prep. to slip your shoes on/off
He slipped a coat over his sweatshirt.

get free

[transitive, intransitive] to get free; to make something/somebody/yourself free from something

slip something The ship had slipped its moorings in the night.
The dog slipped its collar.
slip (something) + adj. The animal had slipped free and escaped.

Word Originverb Middle English (in the sense ‘move quickly and softly’): probably from Middle Low German slippen (verb); compare with slippery.

Idioms

let slip something

to give somebody information that is supposed to be secret
- I happened to let it slip that he had given me £1 000 for the car.
- She tried not to let slip what she knew.

let something slip (through your fingers)

to miss or fail to use an opportunity
- Don't let the chance to work abroad slip through your fingers.
Topics Difficulty and failurec2

(slip/be thrown) out of gear

(of emotions or situations) (to become) out of control
- She said nothing in case her temper slipped out of gear.

roll/slip/trip off the tongue

to be easy to say or pronounce
- It's not a name that exactly trips off the tongue, is it?

slip your mind

if something slips your mind, you forget it or forget to do it
- I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It completely slipped my mind.

slip/roll/trip off the tongue

to be easy to say or pronounce
- It's not a name that exactly slips off the tongue, is it?

slip one over on somebody

(informal) to trick somebody

slip through the net

(also fall/slip through the cracks)

when somebody/something slips through the net, an organization or a system fails to find them and deal with them
- We tried to contact all former students, but one or two slipped through the net.

slip

noun

/slɪp/

Idioms

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small mistake

a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attention

He recited the whole poem without making a single slip.
There were a few slips in the translation.

Synonyms mistakemistake

error
inaccuracy
slip
howler
misprint

These are all words for a word, figure or fact that is not said, written down or typed correctly.

mistake
a word or figure that is not said or written down correctly:
- It’s a common mistake among learners of English.
- spelling mistakes
error
(rather formal) a word, figure, etc. that is not said or written down correctly:
- There are too many errors in your work.
Error is a more formal way of saying mistake.
inaccuracy
(rather formal) a piece of information that is not exactly correct:
- The article is full of inaccuracies.
slip a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attention
howler
(informal, especially British English) a stupid mistake, especially in what somebody says or writes:
- The report is full of howlers.
A howler is usually an embarrassing mistake that shows that the person who made it does not know something that they really should know.
misprint a small mistake in a printed text

Patterns

a(n) mistake/error/inaccuracy/slip/howler/misprint in something
to make a(n) mistake/error/slip/howler
to contain/be full of mistakes/errors/inaccuracies/howlers/misprints

piece of paper

a small piece of paper, especially one for writing on or with something printed on it

I wrote it down on a slip of paper.
a betting slip

see also compliments slip, payslip, pink slip, sales slip

Extra Examples

He got over fifty rejection slips before his novel was published.
His father signed a permission slip for a school field trip.
Please detach and return the slip below.
The Senator returns the blue slip with an indication whether he or she supports or opposes the nominee.
a bank deposit slip
Please fill in the tear-off slip and return it the office.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

rejection
betting
voting
…

verb + slip

sign
give somebody
hand somebody
…

preposition

on a/the slip

phrases

a slip of paper

See full entry

act of slipping

an act of slipping

One slip and you could fall to your death.

clothing

a piece of women’s underwear like a thin dress or skirt, worn under a dressTopics Clothes and Fashionc2

in cricket

a player who stands behind and to one side of the batsman and tries to catch the ball; the position on the field where this player stands

fielding in the slips

Word Originnoun sense 1 and noun senses 3 to 5 Middle English (in the sense ‘move quickly and softly’): probably from Middle Low German slippen (verb); compare with slippery. noun sense 2 late Middle English: probably from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German slippe ‘cut, strip’.

Idioms

give somebody the slip

(informal) to get away from somebody who is following or running after you
- I managed to give him the slip by hiding behind a wall.

a slip of a boy, girl, etc.

(old-fashioned) a small or thin, usually young, person
- She’s only a slip of a thing.

a slip of the pen/tongue

a small mistake in something that you write or say
- Did I call you Richard? Sorry, Robert, just a slip of the tongue.
- I didn't mean to say that—it was just a slip of the tongue.

there’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip

(saying) nothing is completely certain until it really happens because things can easily go wrongTopics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2