slips 1 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of slip
1
as in falls
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 stumbles
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 sneaks
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way casually slipped it into the conversation

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4
as in lurks
to move about in a sly or secret manner slipped behind the cover of the trees

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5
as in flows
to move or proceed smoothly and readily jumped into the car and slipped behind the wheel

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in sheds
to cast (a natural bodily covering or appendage) aside periodically crabs slip their shells and grow new ones

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slips

2 of 3

noun (1)

plural of slip
as in strips
a long narrow piece of material baskets woven from slips of wicker

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slips

3 of 3

noun (2)

plural of slip
1
as in mistakes
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy a careless slip of the tongue

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spills
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 escapes
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 trips
a wrong judgment that's not the sort of slip that a prudent person would have made

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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 slips
Verb
With one entity in charge, no community slips through the cracks. — Neil Chatterjee, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026 The suit claims the development extends beyond the existing Seaquarium site and into Biscayne Bay, where Resilient Aquarium LLC plans to build more than 300 boat slips that do not currently exist. — Abby Dodge, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Debicki slips into the villain role with a nice subtlety that doesn’t hit us in the head with her evil plan to make The Fisherwoman regret ever conjuring up this dreamboat. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026 And then the sun slips above the horizon, and in an instant the shadows turn from indistinct gray blurs to sharp black lines. — Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026 Bamboo slips from Shuihudi count the work of young slaves as units of production, and slips held by the Yuelu Academy describe apprenticeships in state workshops. — News Desk, Artforum, 21 Oct. 2026 Steffi Oesterreich, a lobular breast cancer researcher at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh who was not involved in Peet’s care, said the disease often slips past imaging. — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026 The consideration worth making when delegating this is who has the credibility to hold the rest of the organization accountable when CRM hygiene slips or definitions get quietly reinterpreted. — Kylie Fuentes, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026 The watch goes on your non-dominant wrist, and the ring sensor slips onto your thumb. — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
Renshaw also began a second bowling stint and Verreynne tried to cut him but gave Steve Smith a slips catch and Renshaw his second wicket of the innings, and of his career. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 Modern slips and colorful dresses in fluid shapes are equally strong choices, and when all else fails, a little black dress is a safe bet. — Corinne Pierre-Louis, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026 Regular upkeep to prevent slips, trips and falls is a must, and failing legal obligations of inspecting properties, fixing hazards promptly or posting warning signs can lead to dire consequences. — Christyne D. Santisteban, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026 Frequency climbs, engagement slips and the platform starts favoring other ads long before the marketing team concludes anything needs to change. — Matt Jayson, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026 Sheerness and transparency, lingerie and boudoir dressing — bra tops, slips, robes and kimonos. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 Start plants from slips, sprouted from mature sweet potatoes in moist soil. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2026 Here's what to look out for as summer slips from the Northern Hemisphere, heralding shorter days and darker nights perfect for stargazing. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 22 Sep. 2026 Within the first couple of weeks, one student reported that the bus on Route 51 picked up the students late one day, causing everyone to go through the office to get tardy slips for class. — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slips
  1. falls
  2. stumbles
  3. sneaks
  4. lurks
  5. flows
  6. sheds
  7. strips
  8. mistakes
Verb
  • When carb intake falls sharply, the liver turns fat into ketones, an alternative fuel for the brain and other tissues that may cause less metabolic stress.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Bangladesh’s experience shows the challenge of containing an outbreak when vaccination coverage falls below 95%, a level the WHO says is needed to prevent outbreaks.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of falls
Verb
  • Even as Heath stumbles his way through the lyrics, the audience respectfully claps along to the beat.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Lizard Music follows a boy (Theo Clark Leber) left to his own devices who stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, and a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • Owen Wilson plays an overprotective dad who sneaks his 13-year-old son (Christian Convery) into the festival.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The titular bed trick refers to the literary device, beloved by Shakespeare and by opera buffa, in which a lover sneaks into a bed and, under cover of darkness, is taken for someone else.
    — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of sneaks
Verb
  • The Spurs superstar lurks down low near the basket, allowing guards to pressure aggressively on the perimeter.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Clements sets the scene with lively pop music and excellent period-specific costuming, though darkness lurks beneath the funky 1970s groove.
    — Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of lurks
Verb
  • The program could also be targeted rather than universal — triggered by sector-specific unemployment spikes, income level, or geography, so the money flows first to the workers AI disrupts most.
    — Sarah Cannon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The kitchen flows to the laundry room and attached two-car garage.
    — James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of flows
Verb
  • This is important research that sheds new light on how this content can lead to real-world, offline harm.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • On Uncle, fish narc sheds his past experimental impulses and finds a new identity within ebullient, feel-good college rock.
    — Jeff Yerger, Pitchfork, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of sheds
Noun
  • The test strips for chlorine and quaternary ammonium expired in 2025.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • What catches the eye instead are the colored strips of tape running across the wall, like placeholders for the artworks that never got to hang in such a space.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of strips
Noun
  • Containing the ground game could put Seattle in predictable passing situations, giving the Chiefs a chance to pressure Darnold and force mistakes.
    — Neil Nakahodo, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
  • But Orlando believes those types of mistakes are correctable.
    — Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of mistakes

Browse Nearby Words

slippy
slips
slipshod
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Cite this Entry

“Slips.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slips. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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