1
as in sneaking
to move about in a sly or secret manner
slid gently into his seat without anyone else in church noticing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in flowing
to move or proceed smoothly and readily
at this point the river slides along its banks with barely a ripple
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in crawling
to move slowly with the body close to the ground
the convict escaped by sliding through the prison's ductwork
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sliding
Hydroplaning is the term for when a vehicle begins sliding uncontrollably on wet roads.
—
Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025
Or are the Seminoles at risk of sliding into irrelevance if trips to the Gator Bowl become acceptable?
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
There, people held the bus with their hands to keep it from sliding down to the next tier.
—Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025
Inside, sliding glass doors open to private interior-facing courtyards—this sort of indoor-outdoor living is reminiscent of that in the Eichler homes found nearby.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2025
Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025
Or are the Seminoles at risk of sliding into irrelevance if trips to the Gator Bowl become acceptable?
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
There, people held the bus with their hands to keep it from sliding down to the next tier.
—Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025
Inside, sliding glass doors open to private interior-facing courtyards—this sort of indoor-outdoor living is reminiscent of that in the Eichler homes found nearby.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sliding
Verb
-
That's fine by Rodgers, who knows a thing or two about sneaking in the playoffs and going on a run.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Harry proposed 10 months later in November 2017, and the couple spent their first Sandringham Christmas together the next month before sneaking away to the French Riviera for New Year’s 2018.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The pennies could start flowing again, perhaps easing a shortage in some markets, after the Federal Reserve announced an upcoming shift in the distribution system of old 1-cent coins.—
Susan Tompor,
Freep.com,
8 Jan. 2026
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Now more diners are flowing through, gazing at the handwritten menu on the wall affixed with neat strips of orange tape, or calling ahead.—
Bill Addison,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Now, Letts has brought Coon back to Broadway with the Main Stem debut of his 1996 play Bug, a skin-crawling portrayal of people on the fringes.—
Juan A. Ramírez,
Vogue,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Here, there's a skin-crawling effect to watching the story unfold onstage.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Their debut album, Forever, sounds like temporarily regressing to your childhood self while tripping—a kind of gleaming innocence desperately fending off the darkness of adulthood lurking at the periphery.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
6 Nov. 2025
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The Longhorns, Sooners, Miami and USC are among some of the higher-profile teams lurking on the fringe of the bracket, while schools such as Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Utah could still find a way to crash the party.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The nozzle pours a thick stream of concrete while gliding precisely on its course, stacking each layer, one after another, about an inch thick.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
China has deployed and tested hypersonic glide vehicles and road-mobile systems, such as the DF-17/DF-ZF family, which are typically characterized as gliding at Mach 5–10 and designed to complicate missile-defense engagement.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Grow as a creeping vine or along a trellis.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Jan. 2026
-
What’s that warmth creeping over you?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The program’s pulse felt faint, its identity slipping further with each loss.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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The Buffs dropped their third game in a row at Milan Puskar Stadium, falling 29-22 against the Mountaineers and slipping to 3-7 on a lost season.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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While American fans still love sports, younger ones are drifting away from watching full games to consume highlights on social media, so there are reasons to doubt that an old business model based on media rights growth will remain as lucrative.—
Adam Minter,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
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By combining this information with precise motion data, the team could identify stars that once belonged to the cluster but are now drifting away.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sliding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sliding. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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