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Definition of slip noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

slip

noun
 
/slɪp/
 
/slɪp/
Idioms
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    small mistake

  1. a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attention
    • He recited the whole poem without making a single slip.
    • There were a few slips in the translation.
    Synonyms mistakemistakeerror inaccuracy slip howler misprintThese are all words for a word, figure or fact that is not said, written down or typed correctly.mistake a word or figure that is not said or written down correctly:
    • It’s a common mistake among learners of English.
    • spelling mistakes
    error (rather formal) a word, figure, etc. that is not said or written down correctly:
    • There are too many errors in your work.
    Error is a more formal way of saying mistake.
    inaccuracy (rather formal) a piece of information that is not exactly correct:
    • The article is full of inaccuracies.
    slip a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attentionhowler (informal, especially British English) a stupid mistake, especially in what somebody says or writes:
    • The report is full of howlers.
    A howler is usually an embarrassing mistake that shows that the person who made it does not know something that they really should know.
    misprint a small mistake in a printed text
    Patterns
    • a(n) mistake/​error/​inaccuracy/​slip/​howler/​misprint in something
    • to make a(n) mistake/​error/​slip/​howler
    • to contain/​be full of mistakes/​errors/​inaccuracies/​howlers/​misprints
    see also Freudian slip
    Extra Examples
    • His team cannot afford any slips.
    • She made a couple of unfortunate slips during the talk.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • little
    • slight
    • unfortunate
    verb + slip
    • make
    • afford
    phrases
    • a slip of the tongue
    See full entry
  2. piece of paper

  3. a small piece of paper, especially one for writing on or with something printed on it
    • I wrote it down on a slip of paper.
    • a betting slip
    see also compliments slip, payslip, pink slip, sales slip
    Extra Examples
    • He got over fifty rejection slips before his novel was published.
    • His father signed a permission slip for a school field trip.
    • Please detach and return the slip below.
    • The Senator returns the blue slip with an indication whether they support or oppose the nominee.
    • a bank deposit slip
    • Please fill in the tear-off slip and return it the office.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • rejection
    • betting
    • voting
    verb + slip
    • sign
    • give somebody
    • hand somebody
    preposition
    • on a/​the slip
    phrases
    • a slip of paper
    See full entry
  4. act of slipping

  5. an act of slipping
    • One slip and you could fall to your death.
  6. clothing

  7. a piece of underwear like a thin dress or skirt, worn under a dressTopics Clothes and Fashionc2
  8. in cricket

  9. a player who stands behind and to one side of the batter and tries to catch the ball; the position on the field where this player stands
    • in the slips fielding in the slips
  10. Word Originnoun sense 1 and noun senses 3 to 5 Middle English (in the sense ‘move quickly and softly’): probably from Middle Low German slippen (verb); compare with slippery. noun sense 2 late Middle English: probably from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German slippe ‘cut, strip’.
Idioms
give somebody the slip
  1. (informal) to get away from somebody who is following or running after you
    • I managed to give him the slip by hiding behind a wall.
a slip of a boy, girl, etc.
  1. (old-fashioned) a small or thin, usually young, person
    • I was only a slip of a thing at the time.
a slip of the pen/tongue
  1. a small mistake in something that you write or say
    • Did I call you Richard? Sorry, Robert, just a slip of the tongue.
    • I didn't mean to say that—it was just a slip of the tongue.
there’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip
  1. (saying) nothing is completely certain until it really happens because things can easily go wrongTopics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2
See slip in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee slip in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
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