From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishglideglide1 /ɡlaɪd/ verb [intransitive] 1 SLIDE[always + adverb/preposition] to move smoothly and quietly, as if without effortglide across/over/down etc couples gliding over the dance floor2 a) if a bird glides, it flies without moving its wings b) if a plane glides, it flies without using an engine3 [always + adverb/preposition] to do or achieve things easilyglide through Kennedy seemed to glide through life.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
glide• A swan glided across the surface of the lake.• The rattlesnake can see in the dark and makes no noise as it glides along.• The townsfolk glide around on recently mopped floors with a strange light in their eyes.• The window glides down, outside the wind is rising.• She pressed a button and we glided down the hill, on a track.• Frith stood on the sea wall and watched the sail gliding down the swollen estuary.• The pianist glided easily from a Billy Joel song into "Make Believe Rag."• Further on down, near to the city, a single felucca was gliding gracefully in towards the bank.• Your skis should glide naturally as you move across the snow.• She seemed to glide on her little satin-shod feet.• He pulled out of the parking, engine bubbling warmly, wheels gliding over the pavement as if in a dream.• He glided the aircraft into a vacant field.• The plane glided through heavy clouds.glide across/over/down etc• The dragon, gliding across its vast emptiness, was a mere gilded fly in a banqueting hall.• Go for ordinary, clean words, which your reader can glide across like a skater over ice.• He moved like a cat, himself, easing out of the chair and gliding across the creaking floor.• As she talked, David found his eyes inexorably gliding over the curves of her body.• He pulled out of the parking, engine bubbling warmly, wheels gliding over the pavement as if in a dream.• They watched it fly up and up, gliding over the sea.• As the submersible glides over them, clouds of orange dust rise, swirl about, and slowly drift back down.• Ruts and bumps don't present any problems and the Pirelli Dragons just glide over them.glideglide2 noun [countable] 1 SLIDEa smooth quiet movement that seems to take no effort2 APM technical the act of moving from one musical note to another without a break in sound3 technicalSL a vowel which is made by moving your tongue from one position to another → diphthongExamples from the Corpus
glide• See them nose the long coastline in a glide of perfected instinct.• They danced with sweeping gestures and romantic glides.• In this short glide you maneuvered the machine to any clearing in range.• Only fifty yards further upstream I find a smooth glide along my own bank that looks as though it should hold a few chub.• How he was carried forward by the glide.• Partly it was Vinny, partly the glide.Origin glide1 Old English glidan 