Advertisement

View synonyms for

skid

[ skid ]

noun

  1. a plank, bar, log, or the like, especially one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
  2. one of a number of such logs or timbers forming a skidway.
  3. a low mobile platform on which goods are placed for ease in handling, moving, etc. Compare stillage.
  4. a plank, log, low platform, etc., on or by which a load is supported.
  5. Nautical.
    1. any of a number of parallel beams or timbers fixed in place as a raised support for boats, spars, etc.
    2. any of a number of timbers on which a heavy object is placed to be shoved along on rollers or slid.
    3. an arrangement of planks serving as a runway for cargo.
    4. an arrangement of planks serving as a fender to protect the side of a vessel during transfer of cargo.
    5. sidewise motion of a vessel; leeway.
  6. a shoe or some other choke or drag for preventing the wheel of a vehicle from rotating, as when descending a hill.
  7. a runner on the under part of some airplanes, enabling the aircraft to slide along the ground when landing.
  8. an unexpected or uncontrollable sliding on a smooth surface by something not rotating, especially an oblique or wavering veering by a vehicle or its tires:

    The bus went into a skid on the icy road.



verb (used with object)

skidded, skidding.
  1. to place on or slide along a skid.

    Synonyms:

  2. to check the motion of with a skid:

    She skidded her skates to a stop.

  3. to cause to go into a skid:

    to skid the car into a turn.

verb (used without object)

skidded, skidding.
  1. to slide along without rotating, as a wheel to which a brake has been applied.

    Synonyms:

  2. to slip or slide sideways, as an automobile in turning a corner rapidly.

    Synonyms:

  3. to slide forward under the force of momentum after forward motion has been braked, as a vehicle.
  4. (of an airplane when not banked sufficiently) to slide sideways, away from the center of the curve described in turning. Compare slip 1( def 15 ).

skid

/ ɪ /

verb

  1. to cause (a vehicle) to slide sideways or (of a vehicle) to slide sideways while in motion, esp out of control
  2. intr to slide without revolving, as the wheel of a moving vehicle after sudden braking
  3. tr to put or haul on a skid, esp along a special track
  4. to cause (an aircraft) to slide sideways away from the centre of a turn when insufficiently banked or (of an aircraft) to slide in this manner
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an instance of sliding, esp sideways
  2. one of the logs forming a skidway
  3. a support on which heavy objects may be stored and moved short distances by sliding
  4. a shoe or drag used to apply pressure to the metal rim of a wheel to act as a brake
  5. on the skids
    in decline or about to fail
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈ쾱, adjective
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • 쾱dԲ· adverb
  • t·쾱dԲ adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of skid1

1600–10; 1925–30 skid fordef 18; apparently < Old Norse skith (noun), cognate with Old English ī thin slip of wood; ski
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of skid1

C17: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare ski
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. on the skids, Slang. in the process of decline or deterioration:

    His career is on the skids.

  2. put the skids under, Informal. to bring about the downfall of; cause to fail:

    Lack of money put the skids under our plans.

  3. the skids, Informal. the downward path to ruin, poverty, or depravity:

    After losing his job he began to hit the skids.

More idioms and phrases containing skid

In addition to the idiom beginning with skid , also see on the skids ; put the skids on ; put the skids under .
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

With Trump back in the White House and the economy on the skids, Democrats will surely brush off their familiar playbook and seek to turn the governor’s race into a referendum on the unpopular president.

From

Minutes later, a private jet skidded off the runway, shutting it down.

From

If anyone can identify with Koy’s experience it’s Iglesias, who had his own emergency landing in 2023 when a private jet he was on skidded off the runway and landed in a field.

From

The plane from Minneapolis skidded along the runway with flames visible and came to a halt upside down as firefighters rushed in.

From

Two-wheelers are most at risk, but even cars can skid, tip, or flip.

From

Advertisement

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


ski bootSkidbladnir