skid
/ˈskɪd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.28 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An out-of-control sliding motion as would result from applying the brakes too hard in a car or other vehicle.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: wheelslide, sideslip"
- "Just before hitting the guardrail the driver regained control and pulled out of the skid."
- "The brakes grabbed and the car went into a skid."
- "In the hours before daylight he sharpened the skids and tightened the lashings to prepare for the long dogsled journey."
- "Due to frequent arctic travel, the plane was equipped with long skids for snow and ice landings."
- "He unloaded six skids of boxes from the truck."
Etymology
From Middle English *skid, from Old Norse skíð (“a billet of wood, a beam or plank on which something rests”), from Proto-Germanic *skīdą (“log, clapboard”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey-t-, *skey- (“to split, divide, separate”). Cognate with English shide, from Middle English schyd, schyde, schide (“plank, beam”), German Scheit (“piece of wood, log”). Doublet of ski.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *skey-, *skid, skíð, *skīdą, *skey-t-