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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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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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
At one point, Musashi slips on mud and slides headfirst through a crowd of Samurai. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026 As evening fell and guests sipped drinks and ate hors d’oeuvres, John Ternus slipped into the Observatory building, an event space embedded into a meadow with a large oval window that looks out toward Apple’s main building. — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Noun
The bag is big enough to hold all your travel essentials—even a small umbrella or tablet—and features two slip pockets and one zip pocket inside. — Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 30 Aug. 2026 Babar looked to pull Archer but, too late, tried to fend off a 91 mph (147 kph) delivery that ricocheted off his glove and helmet and ballooned to Jordan Cox at third slip. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 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
  • The share of mid-cap companies in that has increased to 20% from 14% while that of 100 large-cap companies has fallen from 78% to 72%, the report showed.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The company says its reactor’s electrical output falls within the range of a high-performance vehicle drivetrain.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of fall
Verb
  • Most critics of judicial supremacy stumble over the fact that a strong Court sometimes benefits their side.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Analysis from Zeki Data shows that where OpenAI and Anthropic are making gains in the AI talent market, Google DeepMind (and to some extent Meta) are stumbling.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumble
Verb
  • Manual friction sneaks in as systems fail to scale with growth or suffer from poor implementation.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Both were placed on IR-return, which allowed 23-year-old Jacob Bayer to sneak onto the roster after a fantastic camp.
    — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneak
Verb
  • But Ferrari cemented itself as F1’s second-quickest team early on, lurking for an opportunity to dethrone Mercedes that eventually emerged in Spain.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Rhetoric that had lurked in conspiracy-minded corners of the internet was now coming from the federal government itself.
    — Eric Boodman, STAT, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of lurk
Verb
  • For the traditional Telugu Hindu ceremony, their priest translated Sanskrit to English in real time, and the mandap was designed as a circle to represent how life flows into itself for eternity.
    — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Millions of people across the floodplains of the Indian subcontinent depend on the water that flows downstream.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of flow
Verb
  • Farlow also warned that a Samoyed will shed their double coat twice a year, meaning Farlow hopes Swift and Kelce’s vacuums are as strong as hers.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The greatest driver to never win a championship couldn’t shed his old moniker.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of shed
Noun
  • Blakespear said the definition was broad enough to encompass a wide range of heavy industrial uses, including chemical, plastics and pesticide manufacturing and strip mining.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Seattle’s protection had its hands full with Woods, and Thomas screamed around a double-team to force a strip-sack.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of strip
Noun
  • The mistakes that sink applications Loan files in this category rarely die because the borrower earns too little.
    — Karen Koehler, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Innovation Is Not One Game Organizations also make the mistake of treating innovation as a single activity.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 31 Aug. 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 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on slip

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about slip

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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