How to Use lick in a Sentence

lick

1 of 2 verb
  • The dog licked at the plate.
  • The cat licked the milk off her paws.
  • She licked the sauce off her finger.
  • He licked the stamp before putting it on the envelope.
  • Flames were already licking at the ceiling.
  • Flames were already licking the ceiling.
  • Chalk it up to a bad match, and lick your wounds.
    — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
  • Ghadimi licked her lips over and over.
    — Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
  • There was one girl who licked doorknobs.
    — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Cats lick to build bonds and soothe themselves.
    — Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025
  • Somebody got to lick those stamps.
    — Selome Hailu, Variety, 10 June 2026
  • For now, the team must lick its wounds and be ready to right the ship.
    — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
  • The dog ignored him, and licked the boy’s face.
    — Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Dogs may lick their lips, yawn, stiffen or turn away.
    — Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 19 Mar. 2026
  • In it, the dog licked its butt, then licked Paul’s lips.
    — Simon Bland, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Both have walked away from battles licking their wounds.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Scattered men lick their wounds and try to make sense of what happened.
    — Grace Byron, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Five caribou stood licking at the stain.
    — Frank Glaser, Outdoor Life, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Everybody licks the big pink flesh wall.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
  • Soon, orange-red flames began to lick the wall and the roof’s open eaves.
    — Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2025
  • The non-guard dog even licks the man on the face, prompting laugher and smiles.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023
  • These teams might meet again, but first, the Bulldogs need to lick their wounds.
    — Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 5 Dec. 2021
  • Napkins were crumpled; plates were licked.
    — Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Dogs and cats do a very good job of licking food containers clean.
    — Kristin Hostetter, Outside Online, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Stray Cat, in full black latex, mimed licking her paws.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
  • Luckily, my dog came by and licked both me and the water dry.
    — Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Cats will lick themselves more than normal in an attempt to keep cool.
    — Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 3 July 2023
  • Sometimes the signals are faint pulses that lick the back of your mind.
    — Nick Fuller Googins, Men's Health, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Some caution against holding food in the palm or licking any part of the hand.
    — Ligaya Mishan Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
  • Burgess sported red hair and pretended to lick his ice cream cone.
    — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025

lick

2 of 2 noun
  • It just needs a lick of paint.
  • Could I have a lick of your ice cream?
  • If none of this makes a lick of sense, never fear.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • The $2 pup cup is a gift that your pup will savor to the last lick.
    — Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2023
  • Mayfield took lick after lick in the game and was sacked four times.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • And the soupe à l’oignon has a thick, sweet lick, a bruleed cheese cap and a touch of fall spice.
    — Dominic Armato, azcentral, 3 Jan. 2020
  • And all without a lick of spandex.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 5 Jan. 2026
  • And all without a lick of spandex.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Nobody with a lick of sense tried to take an extra base on that guy.
    — J.d. Crowe | [email protected], al, 13 Oct. 2020
  • As the song approached in the set, Les tried to put the lick out of his mind.
    — Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2020
  • Who told good stories and laughed a lot and didn’t care a lick about what anybody thought.
    — Peter Orner, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
  • When sharing licks of ice cream with friends didn’t cause a shudder to go down your spine.
    — oregonlive, 15 July 2023
  • The only reminder of a saffron sauce was a lick of gold in the bowl.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Tone down this wall texture with a lick of matte finish flat paint.
    — Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Aug. 2022
  • Plush and full and balanced aromas of red fruit with a lick of menthol.
    — Tom Mullen, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2023
  • She was known to sneak butter from the fridge to enjoy a few finger licks.
    — ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Soft, light, rounded aromas of young red fruit with a lick of tartness.
    — Tom Mullen, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2023
  • There’s not much to go on yet, as the debut trailer doesn’t show a lick of in-game footage.
    — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, 19 Oct. 2019
  • The fact that Deutch didn’t speak a lick of French didn’t dissuade her.
    — Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Page got the first lick, hitting MJF in the back.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 16 Mar. 2026
  • Watch this video to see how slow feeders and lick mats can keep your pet occupied for longer.
    — Cody Godwin, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Burgess could be seen sporting red hair, leaning over to pretend to take a lick of an ice cream cone.
    — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • After all, what's better than a sloppy lick on the cheek at midnight?
    — Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, 28 Dec. 2019
  • At least Daryl got in a good lick — two, really — before that.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 9 Oct. 2020
  • Oftentimes, the bites are followed by licks.
    — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
  • One way to do this is by using a high-value treat—such as dog-safe peanut butter—on a lick mat.
    — Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Yet Jousse’s endeavor isn’t lacking in a lick of luxe.
    — Angelina Villa-Clarke, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Nov. 2025
  • Suave tannins, a lick of minestrone and apricot on the finish.
    — Tom Mullen, Forbes, 31 July 2022
  • Give Betty a break and try using whole-grain flour, or a lick of pureed pumpkin.
    — Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 3 Feb. 2023
  • Over the last year, two people have spoken out about losing all of their limbs after licks from a dogs.
    — Julie Mazziotta, PEOPLE.com, 25 Nov. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lick.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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