Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To move in a smooth, effortless manner: synonym: slide.
  • intransitive verb To move silently and furtively.
  • intransitive verb To occur or pass imperceptibly.
  • intransitive verb To fly without propulsion from wings or an engine.
  • intransitive verb Music To blend one tone into the next; slur.
  • intransitive verb Linguistics To articulate a glide in speech.
  • intransitive verb To cause to move or pass smoothly, silently, or imperceptibly.
  • noun The act of gliding.
  • noun Music A slur.
  • noun The transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory position of one speech sound to that of another.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In phonetics, a fleeting sound produced in passing from one position of the organs of speech to another, as in pronouncing the sound-combination ki in the word ‘kind’ designated the off-glide of the first letter and the on-glideof the second .
  • noun In cricket, a glance; a stroke by which, instead of being hit, the ball is allowed to strike the bat and to be deflected from it, usually to the leg side.
  • To move smoothly and without discontinuity or jar; pass or slip along without apparent effort; sweep along with a smooth, easy, rapid motion, as a stream in its channel, a bird through the air, or a ship through the water.
  • Specifically In music, to pass from tone to tone without break; slur.
  • In cricket, to glance; allow the ball to meet the bat and be deflected from it, usually to the leg side.
  • noun A gliding movement; the act of moving smoothly and evenly.
  • noun In music and pronunciation, the joining of two successive sounds without a break; a transition-sound involuntarily produced between two principal sounds; a slur.
  • noun In dancing, a peculiar waltz-step performed in a smooth and sliding manner.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act or manner of moving smoothly, swiftly, and without labor or obstruction.
  • noun (Phon.) A transitional sound in speech which is produced by the changing of the mouth organs from one definite position to another, and with gradual change in the most frequent cases; as in passing from the begining to the end of a regular diphthong, or from vowel to consonant or consonant to vowel in a syllable, or from one component to the other of a double or diphthongal consonant (see Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 19, 161, 162). Also (by Bell and others), the vanish (or brief final element) or the brief initial element, in a class of diphthongal vowels, or the brief final or initial part of some consonants (see Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 18, 97, 191).
  • noun (Aëronautics) Movement of a glider, aëroplane, etc., through the air under gravity or its own movement.
  • noun (Zoöl.) The glede or kite.
  • intransitive verb To move gently and smoothly; to pass along without noise, violence, or apparent effort; to pass rapidly and easily, or with a smooth, silent motion, as a river in its channel, a bird in the air, a skater over ice.
  • intransitive verb (Phon.) To pass with a glide, as the voice.
  • intransitive verb (Aëronautics) To move through the air by virtue of gravity or momentum; to volplane.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To move softly, smoothly, or effortlessly.
  • verb intransitive To fly unpowered, as of an aircraft.
  • verb transitive To cause to glide.
  • noun The act of gliding.
  • noun linguistics Semivowel
  • noun fencing An attack or preparatory movement made by sliding down the opponent’s blade, keeping it in constant contact.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cause to move or pass silently, smoothly, or imperceptibly
  • noun the activity of flying a glider
  • noun the act of moving smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it
  • verb fly in or as if in a glider plane
  • verb move smoothly and effortlessly
  • noun a vowellike sound that serves as a consonant

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English gliden, from Old English glīdan; see ghel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English glīdan, from West Germanic. Cognate with Dutch glijden, German gleiten, Norwegian gli, Swedish glida, Danish glide.

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Examples

  • Cavic began his glide into the wall, arms out straight underwater, and Phelps made a split-second decision to take a fast half-stroke, although a glide is usually the more effective finish.

    Phelps wins 100m butterfly thriller to tie Spitz's record 2008

  • Adults flushed bird, turned him to me with missed shots, cock passed me in glide, and I brought him down.

    Field & Stream 2009

  • Yet, I can hear a slight glide from the strong vowel to the schwa before the rhotic r is pronounced in these words in American English.

    P is for Phonemic Chart « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin glide through their first run before the crash.

    USATODAY.com - U.S. lugers Grimmette, Martin crash out 2006

  • I also assume you will dial back your risk over time as you near retirement, which is called a "glide path" in the IFA.com online tool.

    ABC News: Top Stories 2011

  • I also assume you will dial back your risk over time as you near retirement, which is called a "glide path" in the IFA.com online tool.

    ABC News: Top Stories 2011

  • I also assume you will dial back your risk over time as you near retirement, which is called a "glide path" in the IFA.com online tool.

    ABC News: Top Stories 2011

  • And I would anticipate some type of - they are using the word glide for Citizens rates to go up.

    SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page 2009

  • One reason fund companies give for this "through" strategy -- that is, a glide path that invests "through retirement" instead of "to retirement" -- is that retirees are in danger of outliving their assets; the potential growth provided by equities is a way of managing longevity risk for decades, some fund companies say.

    Doubts Linger Over 'Target' Funds Andrea Coombes 2011

  • With visibility reportedly at less than half a mile at the time, a commercial aircraft typically would have been relying on an instrument landing system providing its pilots a so-called glide slope to help safely descend toward the runway.

    Clues Sought in Crash of Polish Plane Andy Pasztor 2010

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