LICK | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of lick in English lickverb uk /lɪk/ us /lɪk/

lick verb (MOVE TONGUE)

Add to word list Add to word list B2 [ T ] to move the tongue across the surface of something: He licked the chocolate off his fingers. She licked the stamps and stuck them on the parcel. [ T, I + prep ] If flames or waves lick something, they pass over it quickly or touch it lightly like a tongue: lick at Within a few seconds flames were licking at the curtains.

• Lick the envelope and seal it.
• They licked their lollies.
• We ate the cakes and licked our fingers.
• They licked water from the window panes.
• The cat licked its kittens clean.

Biting, chewing & swallowing

• bit
• bite
• biter
• champ
• chew
• chew on something phrasal verb
• chomp
• crunch
• dunk
• gnaw
• masticate
• mastication
• masticatory
• munch
• peck at something phrasal verb
• rumination
• suck
• unbitten
• unchewable

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Touching & feeling

lick verb (DEFEAT)

[ T ] informal to defeat easily in a competition, fight, etc.: We'll lick the other teams. Winning and defeating

• air supremacy
• annihilate
• annihilation
• bank
• be gunning for someone idiom
• blowout
• massacre
• medal
• mincemeat
• moral victory
• move/go/close in for the kill idiom
• scrape
• stomp
• stomp on someone/something phrasal verb
• sweep the board idiom
• take someone down phrasal verb
• take something apart phrasal verb
• thrash
• trouser
• vanquish

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Idioms

have (got) something licked lick someone's boots lick your lips lick your wounds licknoun uk /lɪk/ us /lɪk/

lick noun (HIT)

[ C ] old-fashioned informal the act of hitting someone with something such as a whip Hitting and beating

• at-risk
• bang away phrasal verb
• bang someone up phrasal verb
• basher
• bashing
• hammer
• head butt
• hell
• jab someone in something
• jab something at someone
• jab something into something
• jelly
• punch
• stroke
• swat
• swing at someone phrasal verb
• swing for someone phrasal verb
• tan someone's hide idiom
• tapping
• tar

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lick noun (SPEED)

 at a fair, great, etc. lick UK informal at a fast speed: The trains go by at a hell of a lick. See more

lick noun (SMALL AMOUNT)

[ C ] informal a small amount or thin layer: lick of paint The living room could do with a lick of paint. All you need to get started is a rented surfboard and a lick of sunscreen. Words meaning small pieces and amounts

• at a fraction of something
• by a nose idiom
• clipping
• crumb
• dab of something
• fraction
• hint
• morsel
• mote
• oddments
• ort
• paring
• scrap
• slice
• spark
• super-tight
• swarf
• swatch
• tad
• thimbleful

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lick noun (MUSIC)

[ C ]   music   specialized in jazz or rock music, a short series of notes played by one musician Musical pieces

• arrangement
• aubade
• ballade
• barcarole
• bolero
• coda
• jingle
• medley
• nocturne
• octet
• opus
• outro
• partita
• rondo
• signature tune
• solo
• sonata
• sonatina
• song form
• streetscape

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lick noun (TONGUE)

[ C ] the action of licking something: have a lick Can I have a lick of your ice cream? Biting, chewing & swallowing

• bit
• bite
• biter
• champ
• chew
• chew on something phrasal verb
• chomp
• crunch
• dunk
• gnaw
• masticate
• mastication
• masticatory
• munch
• peck at something phrasal verb
• rumination
• suck
• unbitten
• unchewable

See more results »

Idioms

a lick and a promise a lick of sense (Definition of lick from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

lick | American Dictionary

lickverb [ T ] us /lɪk/

lick verb [T] (MOVE TONGUE)

Add to word list Add to word list to move the tongue across the surface of something as a way of eating it or making it wet or clean: [ T ] to lick a stamp/lollipop

lick verb [T] (DEFEAT)

infml to defeat someone or something, or to solve a difficult problem: He has licked the cancer.

Idiom

lick your wounds licknoun [ C ] us /lɪk/

lick noun [C] (SMALL AMOUNT)

infml a small amount: Chuck couldn’t read a lick. (Definition of lick from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of lick

lick K-containing mineral feed was bought, just pure salt licks. From the Cambridge English Corpus Having people contacting calves might lead to different behaviour by the dam, such as licking it more, enabling increased faecal-oral spread opportunity. From the Cambridge English Corpus Green rocks appearing on the licks suggest that the material evolved through weathering in the lick area. From the Cambridge English Corpus The size and the relief of each lick were determined and mapped. From the Cambridge English Corpus Physico-chemical analysis of the geophagical lick soil showed significantly higher quantities of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and clay compared with the other soils. From the Cambridge English Corpus The animals had free access to clean water and mineral salt lick. From the Cambridge English Corpus For example, we observe either flinching or licking behavior of an affected paw and regard it as indicating spontaneous pain. From the Cambridge English Corpus She took a lollipop to lick and didn't feel sick. From the Cambridge English Corpus The bear loves, licks, and forms her young; but bears are not philosophers. From the Cambridge English Corpus The geophagical sites were determined for ten licks. From the Cambridge English Corpus During the samling-period the river at three licks only touched their borders. From the Cambridge English Corpus At each lick, two or three sites for pits were randomly chosen. From the Cambridge English Corpus In addition, 24 control samples were taken at seven localities in the forest at 1-4 km distance to the nearest lick. From the Cambridge English Corpus Soil eating (geophagy) from selected sites (natural licks) is reported from many mammalian herbivore and omnivore populations. From the Cambridge English Corpus I could see it, all too clearly : my father's skull empty and gleaming, licked clean from the inside. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of lick These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of lick?

Translations of lick

in Chinese (Traditional) 移動舌頭, 舔，舐, （火焰）蔓延，掠過，吞捲… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 移动舌头, 舔，舐, （火焰）蔓延，掠过，吞卷… See more in Spanish lamer, lametazo, chupada… See more in Portuguese lamber, chupar, lambida [feminine]… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian चाटणे, ज्वाळा किंवा लाटा जेव्हा एकाद्या गोष्टीला चाटून जातात तेव्हा त्या जिभेसारखा त्या गोष्टीला स्पर्श करतात… See more ～をなめる, なめる, 一（ひと）なめ… See more yalamak, yalama, yalayış… See more lécher, coup [masculine] de langue, coup de langue… See more llepar… See more likken, lik… See more ஏதோ ஒன்றின் மேற்பரப்பில் நாக்கை நகர்த்த, தீப்பிழம்புகள் அல்லது அலைகள் எதையாவது தீண்டுமேயானால், அவை விரைவாக அதைக் கடந்து செல்கின்றன அல்லது நக்குவது போன்று லேசாகத் தொடுகின்றன… See more (जीभ से) चाटना, (आग की लपटों या लहरों का) हल्का त्वरित स्पर्श… See more ચાટવું, (જ્વાળાઓ અથવા તરંગોનો) પ્રકાશ ઝડપી સ્પર્શ… See more slikke, slik, smule… See more slicka, slick, slickning… See more menjilat, jilatan, sedikit… See more lecken, das Lecken, die Spur… See more slikke, slikk [masculine], slikk… See more زبان پھیرنا, چاٹنا, لپیٹ میں لینا… See more лизати, облизувати, облизування… See more నాకు, మంటలు లేదా కెరటాలు నాలుక సాచాయంటే దాన్ని తొందరగా అంటిస్తాయి లేదా నాలిక లాగా తేలిగ్గా తాకుతాయి.… See more চাটা, অগ্নিশিখা বা তরঙ্গ ছড়িয়ে পড়া… See more lízat, líznutí, přetření… See more menjilat, jilatan, sapuan… See more เลีย, การเลีย, แต้ม… See more liếm, sự liếm, một lớp sơn… See more lizać, liźnięcie, machnięcie… See more 핥다… See more leccare, leccata, pennellata… See more Need a translator?

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licentiousness lichen licit licitly lick lick of paint lick someone's boots idiom lick your lips idiom lick your wounds idiom {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of lick

• salt lick
• lick of paint
• lick your wounds idiom
• lick someone's boots idiom
• lick your lips idiom
• a lick of sense idiom
• knock/lick something/someone into shape idiom

See all meanings

• lick your wounds idiom
• lick someone's boots idiom
• lick your lips idiom
• a lick of sense idiom
• knock/lick something/someone into shape idiom
• a lick and a promise idiom
• lick someone's arse/ass, at lick someone's boots idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

exuberantly

UK /ɪɡˈzjuː.bər.ənt.li/ US /ɪɡˈzuː.bɚ.ənt.li/

in a very energetic and enthusiastic way

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• English   
  • Verb 
    • lick (MOVE TONGUE)
    • lick (DEFEAT)
  • Noun 
    • lick (HIT)
    • lick (SPEED)
    • at a fair, great, etc. lick
    • lick (SMALL AMOUNT)
    • lick (MUSIC)
    • lick (TONGUE)
• American   
  • Verb 
    • lick (MOVE TONGUE)
    • lick (DEFEAT)
  • Noun 
    • lick (SMALL AMOUNT)
• Examples

• Translations
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• All translations

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