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slip 1 of 3

verb

ˈslip How to pronounce slip (audio)
Definition of slipnext
1
as in to fall
to decline gradually from a standard level the store's quality of service began to slip after the new owners took over

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2
as in to stumble
to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily be careful not to slip on the spilled oil

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to sneak
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way casually slipped it into the conversation

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4
as in to lurk
to move about in a sly or secret manner slipped behind the cover of the trees

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5
as in to flow
to move or proceed smoothly and readily jumped into the car and slipped behind the wheel

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to shed
to cast (a natural bodily covering or appendage) aside periodically crabs slip their shells and grow new ones

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slip

2 of 3

noun (1)

as in strip
a long narrow piece of material baskets woven from slips of wicker

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slip

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy a careless slip of the tongue

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fall
the act of going down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily had a nasty slip on the ice

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3
as in escape
the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement gave her pursuers the slip

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in trip
a wrong judgment that's not the sort of slip that a prudent person would have made

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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun slip differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of slip are blunder, error, lapse, and mistake. While all these words mean "a departure from what is true, right, or proper," slip stresses inadvertence or accident and applies especially to trivial but embarrassing mistakes.

a slip of the tongue

When is it sensible to use blunder instead of slip?

The meanings of blunder and slip largely overlap; however, blunder regularly imputes stupidity or ignorance as a cause and connotes some degree of blame.

diplomatic blunders

When is error a more appropriate choice than slip?

In some situations, the words error and slip are roughly equivalent. However, error suggests the existence of a standard or guide and a straying from the right course through failure to make effective use of this.

procedural errors

When would lapse be a good substitute for slip?

The synonyms lapse and slip are sometimes interchangeable, but lapse stresses forgetfulness, weakness, or inattention as a cause.

a lapse in judgment

When can mistake be used instead of slip?

The words mistake and slip are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, mistake implies misconception or inadvertence and usually expresses less criticism than error.

dialed the wrong number by mistake

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slip
Verb
Meanwhile, Op de Beeck slips everyday Belgian objects and historical motifs — Duvel beer bottles, supermarket glassware, waffles and typical Flemish still-life arrangements — into his immersive installations, sculptures and films. — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026 The open center gives hand towels or bath sheets somewhere to loop through, rather than inevitably slipping onto the floor, and the handmade stoneware can hold up to 10 pounds. — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 2026
Noun
Rest assured, this pair is comfortable, too, with a slip-in design and memory foam insoles. — Brooke Knappenberger, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026 Skipper Shreyas Iyer was Khan’s third victim, out caught at slip, but Ishan Kishan (38 not out) and Tilak Varma (15 not out) polished off the remaining runs. — ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for slip
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slip
  1. fall
  2. stumble
  3. sneak
  4. lurk
  5. flow
  6. shed
  7. strip
  8. mistake
Verb
  • David, not unlike Jerry, was afraid of falling and white-knuckled his way through.
    — Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • After, tuck yourself into a hammock and gaze up at the stars; you wouldn’t be blamed for falling right asleep.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of fall
Verb
  • But since then, Nosková has solidified while Sabalenka has stumbled, and the Czech has also gotten through some tough matches to reach this one.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Byron Nelson stumbles again Normally an area power, Trophy Club Byron Nelson is off to a rocky start.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of stumble
Verb
  • Every round, the players put on googly-eyed glasses that obscure their vision while Sam sneaks over to tap a Spy, who removes their glasses so Sam can point out which object fits the prompt.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • To be clear, many of these live recordings are sourced from fans who snuck cassette recorders into concert halls.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of sneak
Verb
  • Surging Treasury yields have rattled Wall Street, but there may also be an opportunity lurking for income investors to turn a profit.
    — Michelle Fox, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026
  • For more than a century, astronomers have been captivated by the idea that an undiscovered planet could be lurking in the furthest reaches of our solar system.
    — Micah Hanks, Space.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of lurk
Verb
  • That data flows into BlindSquare, which provides spoken alerts in 26 languages about hazards roughly 10 meters ahead.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Tears and emotions flowed after the game as Lewis’ family embraced the team.
    — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of flow
Verb
  • Nitta said the Emergence experiment is the first to shed light on how AI agents collude to bypass guardrails and break confinement, as OpenAI has yet to release all of its findings from the Hugging Face incident.
    — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Celebración de los Árboles Lisle, Illinois At The Morton Arboretum, Celebración de los Árboles (September 26-27) sheds light on the arboretum’s conservation work to protect threatened trees and ecosystems in Latin America.
    — Ashlyn Ware, Midwest Living, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of shed
Noun
  • The cover can be unfolded so that a strip magnetically attaches to the top of the panel's lid, while the monitor's lower edge can fit into either of two grooves in the cover's base, letting the screen rest at your choice of two tilt angles.
    — Tony Hoffman, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Beauty in Black is a drama following Polidore’s Kimmie, a Chicago strip-club dancer, whose life becomes entangled with Mallory (Crystle Stewart), the powerful head of a hair-care empire.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of strip
Noun
  • Well, his speed off the edge can cause a quarterback to make mistakes — the kind of game-changing mistakes from which the Chiefs did not benefit a year ago.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2026
  • In a work so dense with references, mistakes will sprout like crabgrass; write a big book on André Le Nôtre’s formal gardens and the earthworm experts will gather to deride your confusion.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of mistake

Phrases Containing slip

Browse Nearby Words

slinks
slip
slip (into)
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Cite this Entry

“Slip.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slip. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on slip

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about slip

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