lick 1 of 2

noun

Definition of licknext
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

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2
as in shred
a very small amount the soup needs just a lick more of salt

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damn
the smallest amount or part imaginable you haven't done a lick of work all day

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lick

2 of 2

verb

ˈlik How to pronounce lick (audio)
1
as in to hide
to strike repeatedly your father will lick you good if he hears you using swear words

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2
as in to master
to achieve a victory over he's determined to do everything he can to lick the cancer

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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 lick
Noun
Still, the 7-foot-3 giant still got his licks in on Mysterio. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Opening with the title track, feedback-heavy licks set the temperature as Dillom catches us up on the escapades of recent years. — Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
Verb
There was caviar on the table and this behemoth started licking it. — Michael Douglas, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026 Wash your hands, don't let animals lick your face or your mouth, and keep kids away from litter boxes. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lick
  1. blow
  2. shred
  3. damn
  4. hide
  5. master
  6. slap
  7. splash
  8. whit
Noun
  • Now, in yet another blow to national self-esteem, the ex-head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, has been arrested on charges of exploiting state secrets.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The pro-Western opposition parties won big Saturday in the Czech Republic’s vote to fill one-third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, handing a blow to the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of blow
Noun
  • With every word, these leaders shed another shred of dignity.
    — Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • There’s yet to be a shred of evidence that Belichick can build and guide North Carolina’s roster into the kind of behemoth that can go on the road in the ACC, play poorly and win by double digits while barely being threatened with a loss.
    — David Ubben, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of shred
Noun
  • Trump is not a successful deal maker, because no deal Trump makes is worth a damn.
    — Chris Brennan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And if that is to be the case, most Chicagoans do not give a damn whether the team goes to Arlington Heights or Hammond.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 June 2026
Definition of damn
Verb
  • In an indirect prompt injection, an attacker hides instructions in content an AI agent will come across while doing a task—a web page or a forum post, for instance—hoping to hijack the agent.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Many senior Democrats blamed her, along with the rest of the family and his close aides, for hiding his condition.
    — Azadeh Moaveni, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of hide
Verb
  • Ward went on to join Ohio’s BalletMet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, mastering classical and neoclassical styles until his heart demanded a move beyond those orthodoxies.
    — Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Complicating things is the current Administration, which has mastered the art of using those message-delivery systems to spread doubt and discontent and suspicion.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of master
Noun
  • Chmerkovskiy has since apologized for his comments referencing Will Smith’s infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The Wild, who have played all season without first-pair defenseman Brock Faber due to a skull fracture, lost forward Nico Sturm in the first period when he was hit on the side of the head by teammate Jared Spurgeon's slap shot.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of slap
Noun
  • More than a splash of color Perhaps the more interesting possibility lies beyond multi-color printing altogether.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • A touch of gold and a splash of paisley break up a powerful palette.
    — Ciarra Lorren Zatorski, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of splash
Noun
  • In art, as in life, the messy materiality of flesh fazes me not one whit.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • His adoration, here as in all things natural, is infectious, although the birds themselves care not a whit for him, and isn’t that part of the wonder, the fun?
    — Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
Definition of whit

Browse Nearby Words

licit
lick
licked
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Cite this Entry

“Lick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lick. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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