Lick

Definition: Lick

Lick

Noun

1. A salt deposit that animals regularly lick.

2. Touching with the tongue.

3. (boxing) a blow with the fist.

Verb

1. Beat thoroughly in a competition or fight; "We licked the other team on Sunday!".

2. Pass the tongue over.

3. Find the solution to (a problem or question):"did you solve the problem?"; understand the meaning of; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "lick" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references)

Literature

Multilingual Slang

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Lick

Disapprobation

Take down, take down a peg, set down; snub, snap one up, give a rap on the knuckles; throw a stone at, throw a stone in one's garden; have a fling, have a snap at; have words with, pluck a crow with; give one a wipe, give one a lick with the rough side of the tongue.

Failure

Limp, halt, hobble, fall, tumble; lose one's balance; fall to the ground, fall between two stools; flounder, falter, stick in the mud, run aground, split upon a rock; beat one's head against a stone wall, run one's head against a stone wall, knock one's head against a stone wall, dash one's head against a stone wall; break one's back; break down, sink, drown, founder, have the ground cut from under one; get into trouble, get into a mess, get into a scrape; come to grief; (adversity); go to the wall, go to the dogs, go to pot; lick the dust, bite the dust; be defeated; have the worst of it, lose the day, come off second best, lose; fall a prey to; succumb; (submit); not have a leg to stand on.

Flattery

Verb: flatter, praise to the skies, puff; wheedle, cajole, glaver, coax; fawn upon, faun upon; humor, gloze, soothe, pet, coquet, slaver, butter; jolly; bespatter, beslubber, beplaster, beslaver; lay it on thick, overpraise; earwig, cog, collogue; truckle to, pander to, pandar to, suck up to, kiss the ass of, pay court to; court; creep into the good graces of, curry favor with, hang on the sleeve of; fool to the top of one;s bent; lick the dust.

Food

Verb: eat, feed, fare, devour, swallow, take; gulp, bolt, snap; fall to; despatch, dispatch; discuss; take down, get down, gulp down; lay in, tuck in; lick, pick, peck; gormandize; bite, champ, munch, cranch, craunch, crunch, chew, masticate, nibble, gnaw, mumble.

Form

Verb: form, shape, figure, fashion, efform, carve, cut, chisel, hew, cast; rough hew, rough cast; sketch; block out, hammer out; trim; lick into shape, put into shape; model, knead, work up into, set, mold, sculpture; cast, stamp; build; (construct).

Preparation

Roughhew; cut out work; block out, hammer out; lick into shape; (form).

Punishment

Strike; deal a blow to, administer the lash, smite; slap, slap the face; smack, cuff, box the ears, spank, thwack, thump, beat, lay on, swinge, buffet; thresh, thrash, pummel, drub, leather, trounce, sandbag, baste, belabor; lace, lace one's jacket; dress, dress down, give a dressing, trim, warm, wipe, tund, cob, bang, strap, comb, lash, lick, larrup, wallop, whop, flog, scourge, whip, birch, cane, give the stick, switch, flagellate, horsewhip, bastinado, towel, rub down with an oaken towel, rib roast, dust one's jacket, fustigate, pitch into, lay about one, beat black and blue; beat to a mummy, beat to a jelly; give a black eye.

Servility

Sneak, crawl, crouch, cower, sponge, truckle to, grovel, fawn, lick the feet of, kiss the hem of one's garment, kiss one's ass, suck up.

Submission

Eat dirt, eat the leek, eat humble pie; bite the dust, lick the dust; be at one's feet, fall at one's feet; craven; crouch before, throw oneself at the feet of; swallow the leek, swallow the pill; kiss the rod; turn the other cheek; avaler les couleuvres, gulp down.

Success

Defeat, conquer, vanquish, discomfit; euchre; overcome, overthrow, overpower, overmaster, overmatch, overset, override, overreach; outwit, outdo, outflank, outmaneuver, outgeneral, outvote; take the wind out of one's adversary's sails; beat, beat hollow; rout, lick, drub, floor, worst; put down, put to flight, put to the rout, put hors de combat, put out of court.

Crosswords: Lick

Oh, I gotta yawn, stare at traffic, lick myself (Stuart Little; writing credit: M. Night Shyamalan)

Lick me, all of you (Dazed and Confused; writing credit: Richard Linklater.)

I was born to love you. I was born to lick your face (Caddyshack; writing credit: Brian Doyle-Murray; Harold Ramis)

You can beg for mercy on your belly, lick the bottom of my shoes, or take a beating (Malcolm in the Middle; writing credit: Daniel Frenette)

Now, even the doggy-doggies used to come to Lazarus to lick his open running sores (Godspell; writing credit: David Greene; John-Michael Tebelak)

Got ya hooked by tha way that I lick my lips (Uh Huh; performing artist: B2K)

Well Billy Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please ("Ode to Billy Joe"; performing artist: Bobbie Gentry)

If its time to lick of shots he don't choke (That's What I'm Looking For; performing artist: Da Brat)

Beat up me body lick off me head top (Shy Guy; performing artist: Diana King)

Well you can't use the car 'cause you didn't work a lick ("Summertime Blues"; performing artist: Eddie Cochran)

Life lesson: Never lick a steak knife. (references; author: unknown)

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1 10 of a calorie.� � � � � (references; author: unknown)

What is the most important thing to learn in chemistry? Never lick the spoon. (references; author: unknown)

The Lick Observatory (1968)

My Daddy Can Lick Your Daddy (1962)

Lick Me 3 (2001)

The Lick (1997)

Lick My Lips (1990)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Can I Lick the Spoon? (reference)

• I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today, and Other Stories, (reference)

• I Can Lick Thirty Tigers Today and Other Stories (reference)

• Lick Creek (reference)

• Lick of Sense: Poems (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Boones Lick Heritage (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Music

• Lick (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

French Lick Springs Hotel, French Lick, Indiana. Credit: Library of Congress.

East Montpelier, Vermont. Richard, age five, son of the farmer Charles Ormsbee, has his own war project; he has agreed to lick all the savings stamps for the family. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

There are several types of apraxia including limb-kinetic (inability to make fine, precise movements with a limb), ideomotor (inability to carry out a motor command), ideational (inability to create a plan for or idea of a specific movement), buccofacial or facial-oral (inability to carry out facial movements on command, i.e., lick lips, whistle, cough, or wink) ? which is perhaps the most common form, verbal (difficulty coordinating mouth and speech movements), constructional (inability to draw or construct simple configurations), and oculomotor (difficulty moving the eyes). (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "lick": a lick and a promise ♦ at full lick ♦ black Lick ♦ cat's lick ♦ drive at a full lick ♦ French Lick ♦ full lick ♦ give a lick ♦ give one a lick with the rough side of the tongue ♦ give oneself a lick and promise ♦ give smth. a lick of paint ♦ Knob Lick ♦ lick a problem ♦ lick clean ♦ Lick Creek ♦ lick his boots ♦ lick into shape ♦ lick off ♦ lick one's boots ♦ lick one's chops ♦ lick one's fingers ♦ lick one's lips ♦ lick one's wounds ♦ lick oneself ♦ lick out ♦ lick repeatedly ♦ lick smb.'s ass ♦ lick smb.'s boots ♦ lick smb.'s shoes ♦ lick the dust ♦ lick the feet of ♦ lick up ♦ lithium lick ♦ Mays Lick ♦ paint lick ♦ salt lick ♦ take a lick ♦ To lick into shape ♦ To lick the dust ♦ To lick the spittle of ♦ To lick up ♦ whip lick. Additional references.

Beginning with "lick": lick-nicking, Lick-spigot, Lick-spittle.

Ending with "lick": arse-lick, cow-lick, deer-lick, last-lick.

Albanian

lëpirje (lap), lëpij (eat, lap, lave), shpejtësi (career, celerity, despatch, dispatch, flow, haste, legerity, momentum, pace, promptitude, quickness, rapidity, rate, speed, swiftness, tearing hurry, velocity), rrah (aim, assess, beat, beat up, castigate, cob, flail, flap, flicker, give a good hiding, give in, lambaste, larrup, lather, lay into, mill, Pat, thrash, thresh, trounce, wallop, whop), përpij (drink in, eat up, guzzle, suck in, swallow up), mund dikë, mposht (conquer, depress, manage, outdo, overbear, overcome, overmaster, overpower, quench, restrain, subdue, take care of, vanquish), grimë (bit, dash, doit, drachm, dram, drop, fleck, hint, hoot, jiff, jiffy, jot, mite, rag, suspicion, tittle, touch, whit), goditje (assault, bang, bash, batting, beat, biff, blow, buffet, bump, cant, chop, clean and jerk, clip, dash, dint, drive, fib, flap, hit, ictus, impingement, incitement, infliction, jab, joggle, jolt, knock, knocking, percussion, poke, pound, push, shock, slat, sock, stimulus, strike, stroke, thrust, thwack, tremor, welt), gjollë kripe. (various references)

Arabic 

‏مص (absorption, licking, pick, siphon, suck, suck out, sucking up, suckle, suction), ‏هزم (bear down, beat, best, checkmate, clobber, defeat, dish, dump, finish, floor, foil, go down, hold down, knock off, knock out, outdo, outvote, overcome, overpower, pip, sink, skunk, smash, stop, thrash, vanquish, vote down, whip, wipe out, wipe the floor with smb.), ‏لحس (mouth), ‏لعق (lap, lap up, licking, wash), ‏تفوق (beat, beat all, break, class, distinction, eclipse, exceed, excel, excellence, get the better of, go one better, mastery, outclass, outguess, overpass, overrule, pre eminence, precede, predomination, preponderance, preponderate, prevalence, seniority, superiority, supremacy, surpass, top, tower, transcend, transcendence), ‏سرعة (alacrity, blast, career, despatch, dispatch, expedition, gait, haste, hastiness, hurry, pace, pizzazz, promptitude, promptness, quickness, rapidity, smartness, speed, spurt, swiftness, tilt, velocity), ‏إنطلق بسرعة (breeze, clip, fleet, fly, prick, rocket, scat, scoot, scorch, scud, steam, tear away), ‏إنطلق بأقصي سرعة, ‏إنطلق (career, dash, get away, go, pull away, push off, scud, set out, shove off, split, spout, spring, spurt, start, start off, start out, take out, tee off, waft). (various references)

Bulgarian 

лижа, изблик на активност, изблик на енергия, парченце (bit, patch, scrap, shred, sippet, snap, snip), поблизвам (take a lick), побеждавам (beat, conquer, defeat, down, fight down, foil, have, lace, master, mop up, overcome, overmaster, overpower, overthrow, overturn, pip, polish off, prevail, scupper, thrash, triumph, trounce, vanquish, whip, whop, win, worst, zap), бия (bang, beat, chime, club, curry, feeze, go, hammer, hide, hit, kill, knoll, lace, lather, lay, maul, palpitate, peal, pelt, pulsate, pulse, ram, ramrod, ring, rough up, shoot, strike, swingle, thrash, thresh, wallop, welt, whale, whip, whop, zap), ближа, близане (licking), бягам (course, cut, flee, pelt, run, run away, scurry, shirk), докосвам (dab, tip), бързина (agility, celerity, dispatch, expedition, fastness, haste, hastiness, precipitance, promptitude, quickness, rapidity, readiness, speed, swiftness), силен удар (biff, clip, plunk, slog, slosh, smacker, smasher, sock, stinger, swipe, thump, wallop, welt, welter, whammy, whang, whop), лижене (licking), лизане, заливам (flash, flood, flush, inundate, overflow, overrun, perfuse, sluice, splash, swamp, whelm), мия (bathe, clean, do, lave, mop, scour, wash, wash up), натупвам (shellac, thrash), облизвам, облизване (licking), тичам (chase, course, go after, leg it, race, run, run about, scamper about, scurry, skitter, tear, tear along), троха (crumb), търча (run), бърз ход (double, pelt, spurt, trot). (various references)

Chinese 

餂 (lap), �" (Lapped, Lapping, licked, licking). (various references)

Czech

líznutí (suck), lízat (lap up, suck), zbít (beat up, thrash, trounce, wallop), olíznutí, natřít to komu. (various references)

Danish

mineralslikkesten (licking stone, mineral lick, salt lick, salt-lick). (various references)

Dutch

likken. (various references)

Esperanto

leki. (various references)

Faeroese

sleikja (relish). (various references)

Farsi 

فراگرفتن (Absorb, Comprehend, Engulf, Envelop, Form, Learn, Suffuse, Surround), مغلوب کردن , لیسیدن , لیسه , لیس , تازیانه زدن (Lambaste, Rawhide, Scourge, Stripe, Whip), زبانه کشیدن (Flame, Low), زبان زدن . (various references)

Finnish

pehmittää (beat, soften), nuolla, nuolaista, höyhentää (give . . a good licking, pluck). (various references)

French

lécher. (various references)

German

lecken (lap, leak, leakages, leaking, licking, sleek, taste), lecke. (various references)

Greek 

γλείφω (fawn over, grovel, lap, lick his boots, suck, suck up to). (various references)

Hebrew 

מ�"ירות (celerity, haste, licking, pelt, promptitude, quickness, rapidity, rush, speed, swiftness, velocity), ללקלק, ללקוק, ללקק (lap), ללחך (crop, graze), ללחוך, לקיק�" (licking, sipping), לקוק (licking), ל� צח (always, conquer, defeat, eternally, everlastingly, evermore, for ever, forever, overcome, overpower, perpetually, triumph, vanquish, win). (various references)

Hungarian

sziksó (native soda), nyalás (apple souce, butter, licking, lip service, lip-labor, lip-labour, toadyism). (various references)

Indonesian

menjilat, memelet (flatter, stick out tongue), jilatan. (various references)

Irish

ligh. (various references)

Italian

lambire (lap). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

舐ぶる (to lick), 舐めずる (to lick one's lips), 舐める (to experience, to lick, to make fun of, to make light of, to put down, to taste, to treat with contempt), 舐る (to lick), べろべろ舐める (be very hungry, chattering, closely, cross, cross out, fast, fawn, flat, fraud, no good, prattle, swindle, to lick up with one's tongue), べろべろ嘗める (to lick up with one's tongue), 嘗める (to experience, to lick, to make fun of, to make light of, to put down, to taste, to treat with contempt). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

なめずる (to lick one's lips), なめる (to experience, to lick, to make fun of, to make light of, to put down, to taste, to treat with contempt), ねぶる (to lick), べろべろなめる (to lick up with one's tongue). (various references)

Korean 

핥으십시�". (various references)

Malay

bocor. (various references)

Manx

shliee (flicker; lapping, licking; more, licking; more in number, slick). (various references)

Maya

leedz (to lick). (various references)

Norwegian

slikke, slikk. (various references)

Papiamen

lek. (various references)

Pig Latin

icklay.(various references)

Portuguese

lamber. (various references)

Romanian

loviturã (attack, bang, bat, beat, beating, blow, box, bump, burglary, butt, calamity, cant, clap, clip, coup, cuff, dash, drive, fib, flap, go, heading, hit, hunch, hurt, jab, jolt, kick, knock, master stroke, pelt, push, round, set back, shack, shock, shot, slash, sling, smack, smash, stab, stick, strike, stroke, sweep, thrust), linge (eat, lap, toady), lingere (licking), lins (lank, lanky, liched, licking, sleek, smooth, smoothed), ciomãgealã (drubbing, fustigation, thrashing), ciomag (bat, black jack, blow, bludgeon, club), fi mai mult decât, fugã (be quick, bolt, bunk, career, course, escape, flight, fugue, getaway, hurry on, leak, leg-bail, look sharp, make haste, run, running, rush, scamper, scurry, scuttle, slip, stampede), fugi cât îl ţin picioarele, fugi mâncând pãmântul, goanã (battue, race), bate (bark, baste, bastinado, bay, beat, beat up, beetle, belabour, best, blow, box, bruise, buffet, burst, chastise, chime, clap, club, cob, contend, cuff, curry, dash, defeat, drive, drub, flail, flicker, flog, go, hit, horse, knock, knock in, lace, larrup, lash, lash into, mint, paddle, palpitate, Pat, patter, peal, pound, pulsate, pulse, range, rap, rattle, ring, shake up, shine, slap, smite, sound, spank, strike, swinge, switch, tan, tap, tew, thrash, throb, thwack, tick, tinkle, toll, wallop, whip, worst), mer, zugrãvealã (paint), merge repede (spank, speed), pãturã (bed, blanket, counterpane, cover, lap, section of the people, stratum, wrap), pojghiţã (film), pune capac la, sfântã de bãtaie, strat (bed, coating, film, layer, ledge, mantle, measures, overlay, ply, ridge, seam, sheet, stratum), toc de bãtaie, trage o chelfãnealã, trage o mamã de bãtaie (larrup), vopsire (dyeing), vopsit (colored, coloured, dyeing, painted), mamã de bãtaie (pasting). (various references)

Russian 

лизать. (various references)

Scottish

slìob (rub gently with the hand, sleek, stroke), imlich. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

lizati, lizanje (licking), udarac (beat, blow, bogey, bunt, dig, hit, impact, jolt, lash, puff, punch, stroke, thwack, wallop, whack), pobediti (bear down, beat, carry the day, conquer, outfight, vanquish, win, win out), mala količina (dab, dash, little, modicum, sprinkling, tittle, trace), izmlatiti (beat up). (various references)

Spanish

lamer (lap). (various references)

Sranan

leki (as, how, like, such as). (various references)

Swedish

slicka. (various references)

Thai

เลีย (lap), การเลีย (licking). (various references)

Turkish

yenmek (annihilate, bear down, bear the bell, beat, beat all hollow, best, break, carry away the bell, checkmate, circumvent, clobber, confound, conquer, cut out, defeat, discomfit, down, floor, get the better of, give a beating, knock out, land, master, outbox, outclass, outdo, outgo, overpower, pip, prevail, skunk, slam, smash, subjugate, surmount, swamp, thrash, trim, triumph, trounce, vanquish, wallop, wear down, whelm, whip, whop, win over, wipe the floor with smb., worst), yalamak (give a lick), yalama (licking), tokat (box, buffet, clout, cuff, slap, slap in the face, smack, sock, wipe, wiper), halletmek (adjust, arrange, clear up, compound, dispatch, dispose of, dissolve, figure out, get things done, hurdle, lay on, manage, overcome, polish off, resolve, solve, sort, sort out, Square, surmount, unriddle, untangle, untie, untwine, untwist, unzip, work out), hız (bat, career, celerity, dispatch, expedition, haste, impetus, pace, pelt, quickness, raciness, rapidity, rapidness, speed, swiftness, tilt, velocity), dayak atmak (bash up, baste, beat, chastise, clobber, cudgel, curry, drub, flog, give a thrashing, give smb. the works, give the stick, hide, Lam, larrup, lather, lay in, lay into, pelt, punish, spifflicate, spiflicate, thrash, trounce, whop), dövmek (bash up, baste, batter, beat, beat out, beat up, belabor, belabour, Bray, bruise, cane, castigate, chastise, club, cudgel, drub, dust smb.'s jacket, flail, flog, forge, give a beating, give smb. a thrashing, give the stick, hammer, hide, knock about, knock around, Lam, lam into, lambaste, larrup, lather, lay in, lay into, Mall, maul, pelt, pound, punish, scutch, slog, sock, spifflicate, spiflicate, swage, swinge, tan, thrash, thwack, trounce, wallop, whale, whip, whop), bir parçacık (just a little), azıcık (a little, bare, dollop, few, fractional, little, only just, slight, slim, spot of, sprinkle of, sprinkling of, thimbleful), üstesinden gelmek (accomplish, come through, cope, dope, dope out, fix, get over, get the better of, go over big, handle, hurdle, overcome, polish off, surmount, tide over). (various references)

Turkmen 

tamюanmak (bite through, lick one's lips, take a bite). (various references)

Ukrainian

сильний удар (bang, bash, oner, pelt, plunk, slam, slog, spanker, staggerer, swat, swinger, swipe, wallop), облизувати, облизування, незначна кількість (few, trace), лупцювати (baste, belabour, fib, flail, hit out, lambaste, pommel, pummel, whang), лизати. (various references)

Vietnamese 

sự l� m chiếu lệ, cái vụt. (various references)

Welsh

llyo, llyfu, lleibio (lap). (various references)

elingere, lingebant, lingent, linxerunt. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "lick": licked, licker, lickerish, lickerishly, lickerishness, lickerishnesses, lickers, licking, lickings, licks, lickspit, lickspits, lickspittle, lickspittles. (additional references)

Words ending with "lick": bootlick, click, cowlick, flick, killick, niblick, outslick, rollick, shashlick, slick, superslick, ultraslick. (additional references)

Words containing "lick": bootlicked, bootlicker, bootlickers, bootlicking, bootlicks, clicked, clicker, clickers, clicking, clicks, colicky, cowlicks, flicked, flicker, flickered, flickering, flickeringly, flickers, flickery, flicking, flicks, frolicked, frolicking, frolicky, garlicked, garlicky, killicks, niblicks, outslicked, outslicking, outslicks, rollicked, rollicking, rollicks, rollicky, shashlicks, slicked, slickenside, slickensides, slicker, slickers, slickest, slicking, slickly, slickness, slicknesses, slickrock, slickrocks, slicks, unlicked. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Lick" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Alecko, Altick, Glack, glickum, ick, Klinck, lacl, Lauck, Lci, leack, Lecc, lecky, lic, lica, Liccy, licik, licke, licky, licn, lico, lics, lict, lijk, lik, likx, lincki, lirk, lisc, lisk, Liskov, lix, llc, Luick, lyc, lyk, Ulick, zick. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: ick, ilk.

-2 letters: li.

+1 letter: click, clink, flick, licks, slick.

+2 letters: calkin, clicks, clinks, fickle, fickly, flicks, ickily, licked, licker, luckie, mickle, nickel, nickle, pickle, sickle, sickly, slicks, tickle.

+3 letters: alkalic, alkylic, backlit, brickle, calking, calkins, catlike, clarkia, clicked, clicker, clinked, clinker, cockily, colicky, cowlick, crinkle, crinkly, cuplike, fickler, flicked, flicker, halakic, hillock, icelike, killick, killock, kylices, lacking, lickers, licking, limbeck, locking, luckier, luckies, luckily, lucking, mickler, mickles, muckily, niblick, nickels, nickled, nickles, pickled, pickles, pockily, prickle, prickly, quickly, rollick, saclike, sickled, sickles, skaldic, slicked, slicker, slickly, stickle, tackily, thickly, tickled, tickler, tickles, trickle, trickly, wackily.