French word

glisser

Pronunciation

IPA/glise/

Meaning

  • verbslip

Example

Je glisse sur la glace.

I slip on the ice.

Illustration for glisser (slip)

More examples

Elle m'a glissé un mot pendant la réunion.

She slipped me a word during the meeting.

Core concept

Something travels with little friction while staying in contact with a surface or passing smoothly into a space.

Common phrases

  • glisser un mot

    slip ___ a word

  • glisser dans la poche

    slip into the pocket

Similar words

tomber: Drop toward the ground or a lower position.
trébucher: Trip over something and lose one's walking rhythm.
déraper: Move sideways or diagonally without control because of lost friction.

Definition in French

Se mouvoir doucement en glissant ou provoquer le glissement d'un objet; verbe pouvant être transitif ou intransitif selon le contexte.

Word origin

French glisser comes from Old French glissier; its deeper Germanic origin is uncertain and is best left unstated.

Usage tips

  • Transitive glisser can take an object directly, as in glisser une lettre dans une enveloppe, meaning to make it slide inside.

Other meanings

  • slideverb
  • slip ___ intoverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word