- 1a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attention He recited the whole poem without making a single slip. There were a few slips in the translation. see also Freudian slip Synonymsmistakeerror inaccuracy slip howler misprintThese are all words for a word, figure or fact that is not said, written down or typed correctly.mistake a word or figure that is not said or written down correctly:It’s a common mistake among learners of English. spelling mistakeserror (rather formal) a word, figure, etc. that is not said or written down correctly:There are too many errors in your work. Error is a more formal way of saying mistake.inaccuracy (rather formal) a piece of information that is not exactly correct:The article is full of inaccuracies.slip a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attentionhowler (informal, especially British English) a stupid mistake, especially in what somebody says or writes:The report is full of howlers. A howler is usually an embarrassing mistake which shows that the person who made it does not know something that they really should know. misprint a small mistake in a printed textPatterns a(n) mistake/error/inaccuracy/slip/howler/misprint in something to make a(n) mistake/error/slip/howler to contain/be full of mistakes/errors/inaccuracies/howlers/misprints Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelittle, slight, unfortunate, … verb + slipmake, afford phrasesa slip of the tongue See full entry piece of paper
- 2a small piece of paper, especially one for writing on or with something printed on it I wrote it down on a slip of paper. a betting slip see also payslip Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiverejection, betting, voting, … verb + slipsign, give somebody, hand somebody, … prepositionon a/the slip phrasesa slip of paper See full entry act of slipping
- 3an act of slipping One slip and you could fall to your death. clothing
- 4 a piece of women’s underwear like a thin dress or skirt, worn under a dress See related entries: Clothes in cricket
- 5a player who stands behind and to one side of the batsman and tries to catch the ball; the position on the field where this player stands fielding in the slips Word Originnoun sense 1 and noun senses 3 to 5 Middle English (in the sense ‘move quickly and softly’): probably from Middle Low German slippen (verb); compare with slippery. noun sense 2 late Middle English: probably from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German slippe ‘cut, strip’.Extra examples He got over fifty rejection slips before his novel was published. He sent his cheque with a compliments slip. He wrote the address on a slip of paper. His father signed a permission slip for a school field trip. His team cannot afford any slips. I didn’t mean to say that—it was just a slip of the tongue. Please detach and return the slip below. She made a couple of unfortunate slips during the talk. The Senator returns the blue slip with an indication whether he or she supports or opposes the nominee. Thousands of workers were handed pink slips. a bank deposit slip Please fill in the tear-off slip and return it the office. a Freudian slipIdioms
small mistake
(informal) to escape or get away from somebody who is following or chasing you I managed to give him the slip by hiding behind a wall.
(old-fashioned) a small or thin, usually young, person She’s only a slip of a thing.
a small mistake in something that you write or say Did I call you Richard? Sorry, Robert, just a slip of the tongue.
(saying) nothing is completely certain until it really happens because things can easily go wrong
Check pronunciation: slip
