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glide definition

glide (glīd)

intransitive verb glided glid′ed, gliding glid′·ing

  1. to flow or move smoothly and easily, as in skating
  2. to move by or pass gradually and almost unnoticed, as time
  3. Aeron.
    1. to fly in a glider
    2. to descend with little or no engine power, using airflow to control lift
  4. Music, Phonet. to make a glide

Etymology: ME gliden < OE glidan, akin to Ger gleiten, prob. < IE *ghlei-dh (< base *ĝhel-, to shine > glass, glow)

transitive verb

to cause to glide

noun

  1. the act of gliding; smooth, easy flow or movement
  2. ☆ a small disk or ball, as of nylon, attached to the underside of furniture legs, etc. to allow easy sliding
  3. Music, loosely a slur, portamento, or the like
  4. Phonet.
    1. an intermediate sound produced in the transition of the speech organs from the position for one sound to that for another
    2. the nonsyllabic vowel in a diphthong

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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