Meaning & use
anti-skid
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Designed to stop a vehicle's wheels or a surface from sliding on a slippery road.
Grammar: Used before a noun: anti-skid tires, an anti-skid surface.
Patterns
- anti-skid something
Workers laid an anti-skid surface on the steep bridge approach.
The truck's anti-skid system helped it grip the icy road.
We fitted anti-skid chains to the tires before driving over the pass.
Common combinations
- anti-skid tires
- He bought anti-skid tires before the first snow.
- anti-skid coating
- The ramp has an anti-skid coating.
- anti-skid device
- An anti-skid device is required on mountain roads in winter.
- anti-skid surface
- The anti-skid surface reduced accidents at the junction.
- anti-skid system
- The bus has a modern anti-skid system.
Synonyms and how they differ
- non-slip
- Non-slip is most often used for floors, mats and shoes, where anti-skid is more typical for roads and vehicles.
- anti-slip
- Anti-slip is nearly identical, but it is more common for stairs and bathroom surfaces.
- traction-enhancing
- Traction-enhancing is a technical phrase describing what the feature does, and sounds more formal than anti-skid.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: anti-skid or anti-lock?
anti-skid vs anti-lock
Anti-lock describes brakes that stop wheels from locking, while anti-skid refers more broadly to anything that prevents sliding.
Practice
Before driving in the mountains, he fitted his car with ___ chains.
Choose one answer.
Anti-skid chains give wheels grip on icy roads. The other options are real words but have unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “anti-skid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.