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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in shred
a very small amount
the soup needs just a lick more of salt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damn
the smallest amount or part imaginable
you haven't done a lick of work all day
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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Recent Examples of lick
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 27 Nov. 2025
The fact that Deutch didn’t speak a lick of French didn’t dissuade her.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2025
Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Even as flames licked the rafters and debris began to drip down, some onlookers filmed on their phones while others kept dancing or talking over the music.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lick
Noun
Indeed, despite his love for the game, there was a brief stretch where football didn’t matter a lick, as Singleton indicated.
—Verb
That’s why, even when a team with six losses sits a ways away from panic, Caruso finds distaste when licking his wounds.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for lick
Noun
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Both teams scored 14 points in that final period, with Matthew Stafford’s 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson the killing blow with 38 seconds left.—
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This latest disaster will be framed by some as another blow to Minnesota's reputation.—
Noun
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My search proved fruitful, so below you’ll find my top picks, including an air fryer that saves counterspace, a set of six dishcloths for $24, and a chopping gadget that also slices, grates, and shreds.—
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Shred It For Packaging Turn used wrapping paper into pretty paper shreds for future gifts.—
Noun
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But does anyone worth a damn really want to go to Madison right now?—
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Even for those in the North who didn’t care a damn for the four million held in brutal bondage, or those who wanted a soft, conciliatory approach, the war began to take on new and moral meaning.—
Verb
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Still seething after a sloppy 19-16 loss to the Detroit Lions, Johnson wasn’t hiding his dissatisfaction with a defeat that seemed to diminish his team’s momentum.—
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But the jury in the federal civil lawsuit found that Moore violated Gillispie's rights by hiding evidence that would have helped Gillispie's defense and creating unfair lineup procedures for the victims.—
Verb
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The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.—
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At the sound level, our engineer is a guy who makes all the greatest dance music in the Latin world right now [Josh Gudwin is the records’ mixing engineer and Dale Becker mastering engineer].—
Noun
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Edmundson, who had a goal disallowed earlier, found a loose puck and cranked a slap shot.—
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The friendship developed during rehearsals, and then a confrontation in the film between their characters culminated in a slap.—
Noun
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Atlas is also built to withstand harsh conditions, operating reliably in temperatures from -4°F to 104°F, and is waterproofed to protect it from splashes on factory floors.—
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The first round of the International Tennis Federation’s W35 tournament, played on a clay court in Nairobi, Kenya, wouldn’t normally make much of a splash in the tennis world, but millions of people have now seen what transpired over 37 excruciating minutes in the capital.—
Noun
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Moreover, Trump cares not a whit about bringing drug traffickers to justice.—
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Miss Keaton…is not a whit like the flustered ingénue she was cast to play.—
Cite this Entry
“Lick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lick. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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