lick 1 of 2

noun

Definition of licknext
1
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument gave the ball a solid lick with the bat

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2
as in shred
a very small amount the soup needs just a lick more of salt

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damn
the smallest amount or part imaginable you haven't done a lick of work all day

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lick

2 of 2

verb

ˈlik How to pronounce lick (audio)
1
as in to hide
to strike repeatedly your father will lick you good if he hears you using swear words

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2
as in to master
to achieve a victory over he's determined to do everything he can to lick the cancer

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lick
Noun
But for healthy kids and adults, the occasional lick is fine, experts say. — Angela Haupt, Time, 12 Aug. 2026 Down below, Metropole Underground brings a lick of turn-of-the-century Paris to Phnom Penh, with a neat menu of bar food and cocktails inspired by Metro lines across seven countries. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
Verb
In the post, Wouter was pictured wearing a dog cone, which is used to prevent pets from licking, chewing or scratching surgical sites or wounds. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 Therefore, scrapes without a licking branch aren’t repeatedly visited and re-used by the local deer herd. — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lick
  1. blow
  2. shred
  3. damn
  4. hide
  5. master
  6. slap
  7. splash
  8. whit
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Merz's power inside Germany has taken a blow after a string of state election defeats last month, including losses to the anti-migration and Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The community suffered another blow the following month with the death of Sandy Steers, the executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit behind the livestream.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of blow
Noun
  • There’s yet to be a shred of evidence that Belichick can build and guide North Carolina’s roster into the kind of behemoth that can go on the road in the ACC, play poorly and win by double digits while barely being threatened with a loss.
    — David Ubben, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Without a shred of evidence, Cloud casually weaponized domestic violence allegations against a fan who was simply cheering for his home team.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of shred
Noun
  • Trump is not a successful deal maker, because no deal Trump makes is worth a damn.
    — Chris Brennan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And if that is to be the case, most Chicagoans do not give a damn whether the team goes to Arlington Heights or Hammond.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 June 2026
Definition of damn
Verb
  • The teens then ran from law enforcement before being found hiding in a nearby backyard, with one of the suspects being taken into custody with the assistance of a police dog.
    — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Now that raw capability is no longer scarce, the excuse for hiding behind these proxies has quietly disappeared.
    — Vikas Verma, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of hide
Verb
  • Furthermore, based on my experience, machines need a lot more data than humans to master the same skill.
    — Yifeng Yin, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Horton said he is focused on informing fans and mastering the fundamentals.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of master
Noun
  • The baby Fins were back to Earth, sweet mirage yielding to the slap of reality.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Hundreds of those grants were later reinstated when a federal judge ruled that the slap-dash nature of the terminations violated the Administrative Procedures Act, which regulates how agencies are supposed to change policies.
    — Anil Oza, STAT, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of slap
Noun
  • The first mega-splash came over the summer, with the $20 million-a-year agreement between Monster Energy and college sports’ Big 12 Conference (which includes the caffeine-avoidant Brigham Young University).
    — Kent Sepkowitz, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The company has also parted ways with Marriage Story writer-director Noah Baumbach, whose other Netflix projects, like White Noise and Jay Kelly, failed to make much of a splash.
    — Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of splash
Noun
  • His adoration, here as in all things natural, is infectious, although the birds themselves care not a whit for him, and isn’t that part of the wonder, the fun?
    — Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
  • An unconventional structure or new approach bothers them not a whit.
    — Mac Barnett, Longreads, 5 May 2026
Definition of whit

Browse Nearby Words

licit
lick
licked
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Cite this Entry

“Lick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lick. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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