Meaning & use
skid
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To slide sideways or forward without control, especially a vehicle on a wet or icy surface.
Grammar: No object: the car skidded. Often followed by a direction word.
Patterns
- skid on something
- skid into something
- skid off something
The truck skidded on the icy bridge.
Her bike skidded into a puddle.
The car skidded off the road.
nouncountable
An uncontrolled slide of a vehicle on a slippery surface.
Grammar: Often go into a skid.
Patterns
- go into a skid
- a skid on something
The driver went into a skid on the wet road.
He recovered from the skid just in time.
The long skid marks showed where the car had stopped.
nouncountabletechnical
A wooden or metal support, such as a runner under a heavy load or an aircraft.
Grammar: Technical use for something that slides.
Patterns
- on skids
The crate rested on wooden skids.
The helicopter landed on its skids.
Workers dragged the machine on a metal skid.
verbintransitiveinformalfigurative
To fall sharply in value or fortunes.
Grammar: Used with prices or fortunes.
Patterns
- skid to something
Share prices skidded after the announcement.
His career skidded after the scandal.
Sales skidded to a new low.
Word forms
| third person singular | skids |
|---|---|
| past tense | skidded |
| past participle | skidded |
| -ing form | skidding |
| plural | skids |
Common combinations
- skid on ice
- The bus skidded on ice near the hill.
- skid to a halt
- The van skidded to a halt.
- skid marks
- Skid marks stretched across the road.
- go into a skid
- The car went into a skid on the corner.
- skid off the road
- Two cars skidded off the road in the storm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slide
- Slide is a general word for smooth movement and can be controlled, while skid suggests losing control.
- slip
- Slip is used for feet or small objects, whereas skid is typically for vehicles.
- slither
- Slither suggests a snake-like gliding, which is quieter and slower than a skid.
- fishtail
- Fishtail describes a car's rear swinging side to side during a skid.
Opposites
Word family
- skidding noun
- the action of sliding out of control
- skidproof adjective
- designed to prevent skidding
- skiddy adjective
- likely to cause skidding (informal)
- skid row noun
- a run-down area where poor people live
Commonly confused: skid or skim?
skid vs skim
Skim means to move lightly over a surface or read quickly, not slide out of control.
Practice
When the road is icy, cars often ______ if the driver brakes too hard.
Choose one answer.
Skid means slide out of control, which is what happens on ice when braking too hard. Skim, skip and scrub do not describe a vehicle losing grip.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “skid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.