skid
a plank, bar, log, or the like, especially one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
one of a number of such logs or timbers forming a skidway.
a low mobile platform on which goods are placed for ease in handling, moving, etc.: Compare stillage.
a plank, log, low platform, etc., on or by which a load is supported.
Nautical.
any of a number of parallel beams or timbers fixed in place as a raised support for boats, spars, etc.
any of a number of timbers on which a heavy object is placed to be shoved along on rollers or slid.
an arrangement of planks serving as a runway for cargo.
an arrangement of planks serving as a fender to protect the side of a vessel during transfer of cargo.
sidewise motion of a vessel; leeway.
a shoe or some other choke or drag for preventing the wheel of a vehicle from rotating, as when descending a hill.
a runner on the under part of some airplanes, enabling the aircraft to slide along the ground when landing.
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.
to place on or slide along a skid.
to check the motion of with a skid: She skidded her skates to a stop.
to cause to go into a skid: to skid the car into a turn.
to slide along without rotating, as a wheel to which a brake has been applied.
to slip or slide sideways, as an automobile in turning a corner rapidly.
to slide forward under the force of momentum after forward motion has been braked, as a vehicle.
(of an airplane when not banked sufficiently) to slide sideways, away from the center of the curve described in turning.: Compare slip1 (def. 15).
Idioms about skid
on the skids, Slang. in the process of decline or deterioration: His career is on the skids.
put the skids under, Informal. to bring about the downfall of; cause to fail: Lack of money put the skids under our plans.
the skids, Informal. the downward path to ruin, poverty, or depravity: After losing his job he began to hit the skids.
Origin of skid
1Other words for skid
Other words from skid
- skid·ding·ly, adverb
- an·ti·skid·ding, adjective
Words Nearby skid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use skid in a sentence
As noted by ESPN’s David Purdum, some books had their third straight losing week, a rare skid for entities that rarely fail to come out on top.
This NFL season has been devoid of big upsets, and gamblers are cashing in | Matt Bonesteel | October 25, 2021 | Washington PostInstead, the narrative this time around is that of a former golden boy on the skids, turning himself around to land the untouchable goddess who once loved him.
The Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck recoupling is the greatest gossip story we’ve had in years | Constance Grady | August 24, 2021 | VoxIf we lose the skid, we not only lose our workforce, but we lose our culture.
Ditto if a pilot is setting up to toe the skid of a helicopter into an Alaskan face to unload skiers and the ten-knot headwind shifts to a ten-knot tailwind.
The Blackhawks looked like the early choice after a hot start — with over a 60 percent chance in early March — but a recent skid has coincided with a surge for the Nashville Predators, who seemed dead in the water early.
The NHL Playoff Races To Watch Down The Stretch | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | April 2, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
Downtown L.A. was basically just skid Row back then, and we closed it down to shoot that shootout sequence.
Tom Sizemore’s Revenge: On Tom Cruise’s Scientology Recruitment, Drugs, and Craving a Comeback | Marlow Stern | September 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI did think you had to end up on skid row if you were an alcoholic.
Elmore Leonard’s Rocky Road to Fame and Fortune | Mike Lupica | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut today skid Row is in the news—for all the wrong reasons.
Today skid Row resembles a Third World tent city teeming with sleeping bags, shopping carts, and people with nowhere else to go.
If Ron Johnson was running any faster from the Tea Party he'd leave skid marks.
Conservative Senator Kicks Tea Party to the Curb | David Freedlander | May 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe blade wabbled, took a mad skid for the surface, and the handles hit me a blow in the ribs which knocked my breath out.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard EatonThey are goin' to skid the butt log again, and they swear that if you cull it again, they will kill you.
Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward WhiteThe car went into a wild skid and Salt thereafter devoted his attention strictly to driving.
Ghost Beyond the Gate | Mildred A. WirtThough the driver applied the foot brake with quick stabs, the car went into a disastrous skid.
Ghost Beyond the Gate | Mildred A. WirtGot a sleigh fixed, hemlock boughs and a cover of robes and blankets, and skid'll drive careful.
British Dictionary definitions for skid
/ (skɪd) /
to cause (a vehicle) to slide sideways or (of a vehicle) to slide sideways while in motion, esp out of control
(intr) to slide without revolving, as the wheel of a moving vehicle after sudden braking
(tr) US and Canadian to put or haul on a skid, esp along a special track
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
an instance of sliding, esp sideways
mainly US and Canadian one of the logs forming a skidway
a support on which heavy objects may be stored and moved short distances by sliding
a shoe or drag used to apply pressure to the metal rim of a wheel to act as a brake
on the skids in decline or about to fail
Origin of skid
1Derived forms of skid
- skiddy, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with skid
In addition to the idiom beginning with skid
- skid row
also see:
- on the skids
- put the skids on
- put the skids under
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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