skid

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to slide suddenly or sideways across a surface with little or no control

   The truck skidded on black ice and stopped across both lanes.

2. 2
   noun

   a sudden uncontrolled sliding movement

   The driver corrected the skid before the car reached the barrier.

3. 3
   noun

   a runner or supporting beam beneath an aircraft or heavy object, used for landing, support, or movement

   The helicopter settled gently onto its skids beside the cabin.

Probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse skid ("stick of wood"), the same family as ski. The noun first denoted a beam or plank placed under a heavy object; the verb originally meant to stop a wheel with such a block. Modern sliding senses grew from a blocked wheel slipping instead of turning.

Topics