lick

v., licked, lick·ing, licks.

v.tr.

1. To pass the tongue over or along: lick a stamp.
2. To lap up.
3. To lap or flicker at like a tongue: The waves licked the sides of the boat.
4. Slang. To punish with a beating; thrash.
5. Slang. To get the better of; defeat: licked her weight problem.

v.intr.

To pass or lap quickly and rapidly: The flames licked at our feet.

n.

1. The act or process of licking.
2. An amount obtained by licking: a lick of ice cream.
3. A small quantity; a bit: hasn't got a lick of common sense.
4. A deposit of exposed natural salt that is licked by passing animals.
5. A sudden hard stroke; a blow.
6. An attempt; a try.
7. Informal. Speed; pace: moving along at a good lick.
8. Music. A phrase improvised by a soloist, especially on the guitar or banjo.

idioms:

lick and a promise

1. A superficial effort made without care or enthusiasm.

lick into shape Informal.

1. To bring into satisfactory condition or appearance.

lick (one's) chops

1. To anticipate delightedly.

lick (one's) wounds

1. To recuperate after a defeat.

lick (someone's) boots

1. To behave in a servile or obsequious manner toward someone.

[Middle English licken, from Old English liccian.]

licker lick'er n.

verb

1. To punish with blows or lashes: beat, flog, hide², lash, thrash, whip. Informal trim. Slang lay into. See attack/defend, reward/punish/deserve.
2. To win a victory over, as in battle or a competition: beat, best, conquer, defeat, master, overcome, prevail against (or over), rout, subdue, subjugate, surmount, triumph over, vanquish, worst. Informal trim, whip. Slang ace. Idioms: carrywinthe day, gethavethe best of, gethavethe better of, go someone one better. See win/lose/recovery.

noun

A sudden sharp, powerful stroke: bang, blow², clout, crack, hit, pound, slug³, sock, swat, thwack, welt, whack, wham, whop. Informal bash, biff, bop, clip¹, wallop. Slang belt, conk, paste. See attack/defend, strike/miss.

v

Definition: defeat, sometimes by hitting
Antonyms: lose

---

1. a stroke with the tongue, normally used in cleaning the coat or ingesting a substance from a flat surface. See also licking.
2. a mixture of salt plus other macro-elements, especially phosphorus, trace elements, vitamins and other feed additives, fed loosely in a box in the field or indoor housing. The objective is to get the animals to ingest small amounts daily by licking the mixture; salt hungry cattle may eat larger amounts. May be consolidated into a block which encourages licking. Called also mineral mix.

• acral l. dermatitis — see acral lick dermatitis.
• l. dermatitis — see lick granuloma (below).
• feline l. granuloma — see feline eosinophilic granuloma complex.
• l. granuloma — called also lick dermatitis; see acral lick dermatitis.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - slikke, slikke op, slikke i sig, slikke hen over, skylle hen over, tæve, banke, klø, flintre af sted
v. intr. - slikke, slikke op, slikke i sig, slikke hen over, skylle hen over, tæve, bane, klø, flintre af sted
n. - slik, anelse, slag, pludselig energiudfoldelse

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    give lidt og love lidt mere, gå let hen over
• lick into shape    få skik på, fjerne unoder, slibe kanterne af
• lick someone's boots    slikke op ad ryggen, sleske, fedte for

Nederlands (Dutch)
likken, oplikken, verslaan, overtreffen, afranselen, lik, veeg, likje, poging, mep, liksteen

Français (French)
v. tr. - lécher, corriger (qn), battre (qn), venir à bout de (difficulté)
v. intr. - lécher, battre à plate couture
n. - coup de langue, chorus, coup, brin, terrain salifère (pour le bétail)

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    faire un brin de toilette
• lick into shape    modeler à coups de marteau, battre
• lick someone's boots    lécher les bottes de qn

Deutsch (German)
v. - lecken, züngeln, verdreschen, (be)siegen
n. - Lecken

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    Katzenwäsche
• lick into shape    wieder in Form bringen
• lick someone's boots    jmdm. die Stiefel lecken

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - γλείφω, νικώ, τσακίζω, καταχερίζω, συντρίβω, κατατροπώνω, δίνω στα αφτιά
n. - μικροποσότητα, γλειψιά, γλείψιμο

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    ψευτονιψιματάκι
• lick into shape    σουλουπώνω, διαπλάθω
• lick someone's boots    φιλώ τα πόδια κάποιου, φέρομαι δουλικά σε κάποιον

Italiano (Italian)
leccare, leccata

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    pulizia spiccia
• lick someone's boots    leccare i piedi di qualcuno

Português (Portuguese)
v. - lamber
n. - lambida (f)

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    fazer por alto, matar o trabalho

Русский (Russian)
лизать, слегка касаться, колотить, очень спешить, облизывание, капелька, сильный удар, шаг, усилие

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    работа, сделанная кое-как
• lick someone's boots    подхалимничать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - lamer, adular, vencer
v. intr. - flamear, moverse como una lengua, apresurarse
n. - lengüetada, lamedura, lamido, mano

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    lavarse rápidamente, lavarse como el gato, limpiar muy por encima o por donde ve la suegra
• lick into shape    pulir, poner a punto, formar
• lick someone's boots    hacer la pelotilla a alguien, adular servilmente a alguien

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - slicka (äv. om eld och vågor), slicka på, klå upp, ge stryk, klå, slå, sno sig, kuta (i väg), sätta i väg
n. - slickning, sleke, saltsleke, smäll, rapp, (sl.) fräs (fart)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
舔, 鞭打, 卷过, 轻轻拍打, 打, 少许

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    先草率搞一下, 草率从事
• lick into shape    塑造, 使有效
• lick someone's boots    巴结某人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 舔, 鞭打, 卷過
v. intr. - 輕輕拍打
n. - 舔, 打, 少許

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    先草率搞一下, 草率從事
• lick into shape    塑造, 使有效
• lick someone's boots    巴結某人

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 핥다, 스치다, 때리다, 이기다
v. intr. - 핥듯이 움직이다, 급히 서두르다
n. - 한번 핥기, 한번 때리기

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    대강대강 해치우기

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - なめること, 一掃き, 少量
v. - なめる, 寄せる, 打ち負かす, 殴る

idioms:

• a lick and a promise    いいかげんな仕事, ぞんざいな洗い
• lick one's lips    舌なめずりする
• lick someone's boots    へつらう

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يلعق, يلحس, يهزمه أو يتفوق عليه, يمسه برفق, ينطلق بأقصى سرعه (الاسم) لعق, لعقه, مقدار ضئيل, ضربه عنيفه, جهد مفتقر إلى الرويه والإتقان‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮ליקק, ליחך, הצליף, הביס, נגע‬
v. intr. - ‮נע בזריזות‬
n. - ‮לקיקה, מריחה קלה, ניקוי קל, כמות קטנה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.