Meaning & use
slice in cooking
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To cut food into thin, flat pieces with a knife or a similar tool.
Grammar: Often takes an object (slice the onions); it can also stand alone when the food is already clear (slice thinly).
Patterns
- slice something
- slice something into something
- slice something thinly
Slice the tomatoes and put them on the plate.
She sliced the bread into thick pieces for toast.
Slice the meat thinly so it cooks quickly.
nouncountable
A thin, flat piece of food that has been cut from a larger amount.
Grammar: Use a slice of before the food: a slice of cake, two slices of cheese.
Patterns
- a slice of something
- two slices of something
- cut something into slices
He ate a slice of cake with his tea.
Add two slices of cheese to the sandwich.
Cut the lemon into thin slices.
nouncountable
A kitchen tool with a flat blade used for cutting food into thin pieces.
Grammar: Usually appears in compounds such as an egg slicer or a cheese slicer, not on its own.
Patterns
- an egg slicer
- a cheese slicer
An egg slicer makes neat pieces in seconds.
She used a cheese slicer for the sandwiches.
Word forms
| third person singular | slices |
|---|---|
| past tense | sliced |
| past participle | sliced |
| -ing form | slicing |
| plural | slices |
Common combinations
- slice thinly
- Slice the carrots thinly before adding them to the pan.
- a slice of bread
- He made a sandwich with two slices of bread.
- cut into slices
- Cut the apple into slices for the children.
- a thick slice
- She put a thick slice of ham on the plate.
- slice off
- Slice off the top of the tomato and scoop out the seeds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cut
- Cut is the general word for using a knife; slice is more specific and means cutting thin flat pieces.
- carve
- Carve is used mainly for cutting cooked meat into slices at the table, so it fits a roast but not a tomato.
- chop
- Chop means cutting into small rough pieces, not thin flat ones, so it is wrong for bread or cheese.
Word family
Commonly confused: slice in cooking or slash? slice in cooking or sliver?
slice in cooking vs slash
Slash means a long, quick cut, often violent or careless; slice is controlled and produces neat pieces.
slice in cooking vs sliver
A sliver is a very thin, often uneven piece, such as a sliver of glass; a slice is a regular piece cut from food.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'slice' correctly for cooking?
Choose one answer.
'Slice the bread into thin pieces' follows the pattern slice + object + into + pieces. Option 1 is wrong because a spoon cannot slice, option 2 adds 'to' before the object, and option 3 adds an unnecessary 'of it'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “slice in cooking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.