lick
verb/lɪk/
/lɪk/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they lick | /lɪk/ /lɪk/ |
| he / she / it licks | /lɪks/ /lɪks/ |
| past simple licked | /lɪkt/ /lɪkt/ |
| past participle licked | /lɪkt/ /lɪkt/ |
| -ing form licking | /ˈlɪkɪŋ/ /ˈlɪkɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] to move your tongue over the surface of something in order to taste it, make it wet or clean it
- lick something He licked his fingers.
- I'm tired of licking envelopes.
- The cat sat licking its paws.
- lick something + adj. She licked the spoon clean.
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- [transitive] lick something + adv./prep. to eat or drink something by licking it
- The cat licked up the milk.
- She licked the honey off the spoon.
- [transitive, intransitive] (of flames) to touch something lightly
- lick something Flames were soon licking the curtains.
- lick at something The flames were now licking at their feet.
- [transitive] lick somebody/something (informal) to easily defeat somebody or deal with something
- We thought we had them licked.
- It was a tricky problem but I think we've licked it.
Word OriginOld English liccian, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch likken and German lecken, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek leikhein and Latin lingere.
Idioms
See lick in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryget/knock/lick somebody into shape
- to train somebody so that they do a particular job, task, etc. well
- It took him just two weeks to knock the new recruits into shape.
lick somebody’s boots
(British English, taboo, slang lick somebody’s arse)
- (disapproving) to show too much respect for somebody in authority because you want to please them synonym crawl
lick/get/knock somebody into shape
- to train somebody so that they do a particular job, task, etc. well
- Leave the boy with me—I'll soon lick him into shape!
lick your lips
- to move your tongue over your lips, especially before eating something good
- (also smack your lips)(informal) to show that you are excited about something and want it to happen soon
- They were licking their lips at the thought of clinching the deal.
lick your wounds
- to spend time trying to get your strength or confidence back after a defeat or a disappointing experience
- Leeds are still licking their wounds after their humiliating defeat by Grimsby.
Check pronunciation:
lick