slippery

adjective

slip·​pery ˈsli-p(ə-)rē How to pronounce slippery (audio)
slipperier; slipperiest
1
a
: causing or tending to cause something to slide or fall
slippery roads
b
: tending to slip from the grasp
a slippery fish
2
a
: not firmly fixed : unstable
b
: not precise or fixed in meaning : ambiguous, elusive
3
: not to be trusted : tricky
slipperiness noun

Examples of slippery in a Sentence

The trails were muddy and slippery. Fish are slippery to hold. The sign cautions: “Slippery when wet.”
Recent Examples on the Web The trails to both falls have steep and rocky terrain that can be loose and slippery when wet. Krissy Waite, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 Be sure to wear shoes with a good grip, as the stones can be quite slippery. Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2024 There are slippery stretches for much of the Milwaukee area and the Fox Valley, while the majority of the state is seeing better driving conditions. David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2024 But the film is more slippery and subtle than that. Catherine Bray, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024 Even if the Intuitive Machines landing goes smoothly, Koons’s sculptures probably won’t be the first art to touch down on our closest companion in space—although the matter is surprisingly slippery. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Feb. 2024 The glass is slippery, so having extra pressure helps the pliers grip better. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 This is one keyboard that’s not going to be sliding all over your desk, no matter how slippery its surface is. Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 Inside the warehouse, the floors were slippery from the cold cargo — so cold that among many thousands of flowers, there was no trace of their scent. Patricia Mazzei Scott McIntyre, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slippery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

slipper entry 1 + -y entry 1

Note: As the earliest occurrence of slippery appears to be in the Coverdale Bible (1535, Psalm 35:6), it has been suggested that the addition of the suffix -y to the adjective slipper copies German schlipfferig in Luther's translation of the same passage (1534, present-day German schlüpfrig). The German word is ultimately from the same Germanic base as slip entry 5 (see Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology).

First Known Use

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of slippery was circa 1500

Dictionary Entries Near slippery

Cite this Entry

“Slippery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slippery. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

slippery

adjective
slip·​pery ˈslip-(ə-)rē How to pronounce slippery (audio)
slipperier; slipperiest
1
: having a surface smooth enough to cause one to slide or lose one's hold
2
: not worthy of trust : tricky, crafty
slipperiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on slippery

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