1
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
gave the ball a solid lick with the bat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in shred
a very small amount
the soup needs just a lick more of salt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damn
the smallest amount or part imaginable
you haven't done a lick of work all day
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to hide
to strike repeatedly
your father will lick you good if he hears you using swear words
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to master
to achieve a victory over
he's determined to do everything he can to lick the cancer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of lick
Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2025
Who knows — this one might, in tiny increments, one acoustic guitar lick or exhortation to live fully at a time.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Soon, orange-red flames began to lick the wall and the roof’s open eaves.
—Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lick
Noun
Basically, if humans and robots end up battling it out one day, we won’t be surprised to see Thompson on the front lines trying to get her lick back.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2025
Who knows — this one might, in tiny increments, one acoustic guitar lick or exhortation to live fully at a time.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
Collins is no doubt licking his chops studying tape of another Patriots rookie, left guard Jared Wilson, who allowed two sacks last weekend.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Soon, orange-red flames began to lick the wall and the roof’s open eaves.
—Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lick
Noun
-
Green Bay's offense was dealt a massive blow last week when star tight end Tucker Kraft went down with a torn ACL against the Panthers.—
Reice Shipley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The Broncos put up negative net yardage on a whopping four drives, and only found a shred of fourth-quarter magic in Nix’s right arm on a late third-down rollout to Franklin to help put the game away.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
7 Nov. 2025
-
But the unfixed nature of trauma colors even the most vivid of memories with shreds of doubt.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Even for those in the North who didn’t care a damn for the four million held in brutal bondage, or those who wanted a soft, conciliatory approach, the war began to take on new and moral meaning.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
-
At the start, the project required building a damn to drain the water from the facade.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But most of the time, hiding stuff from them doesn't work.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Oscar’s grouchy shell hides a strangely tender soul, which is classic Scorpio.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Engineers in the United States are making serious efforts to ensure that humanoid robots master self-balancing and offer precision in conducting multiple types of tasks.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Jonathan Bailey has mastered the art of capturing hearts.—
Julie Jordan,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Greenstein and Goldberg tried — and failed — to dissuade their boss from giving Will Smith and his company Westbrook an overall deal with the studio, arguing that the Oscar-slap controversy and a dodgy box office track record would result in more headaches than hits.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
4 Nov. 2025
-
That included two stellar stops in the waning seconds of the third with Carolina on the power play, rebuffing a slap shot and then blocking the rebound with his leg pad.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This ruling is a big splash as NASCAR and plaintiff teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports gear up for trial in Charlotte to punctuate a lawsuit in which 23XI and FRM assert that NASCAR is a monopoly.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Nov. 2025
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The trade deadline came and went for the Detroit Lions, and for a team that isn’t known for making in-season splashes, this was par for the course.—
Colton Pouncy,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Miss Keaton…is not a whit like the flustered ingénue she was cast to play.—
Chris Morris,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
-
The whit and the whoo are from different owls.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lick. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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