lick

1 a salt deposit that animals regularly lick [syn: salt lick]

2 touching with the tongue; "the dog's laps were warm and wet" [syn: lap]

3 (boxing) a blow with the fist; "I gave him a clout on his nose" [syn: punch, clout, poke, biff]

1 beat thoroughly in a competition or fight; "We licked the other team on Sunday!" [syn: bat, clobber, drub, thrash]

2 pass the tongue over; "the dog licked her hand" [syn: lap]

3 find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem" [syn: solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, work]

4 take up with the tongue; "The cat lapped up the milk"; "the cub licked the milk from its mother's breast" [syn: lap, lap up]

English

Etymology

liccian.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes with: -ɪk

Verb

1. To stroke with the tongue.

   The cat licked its fur.

2. To defeat decisively, particularly in a fight.

   My dad can lick your dad.

3. To overcome.

   I think I can lick this.

4. vulgar slang To perform cunnilingus.

Translations

Translations to be checked

Noun

1. The act of licking.

   The cat gave its fur a lick.

2. The amount of some substance obtainable with a single lick.

   Give me a lick of ice cream.

3. A place where animals lick minerals from the ground.

   The birds gathered at the clay lick.

4. A stroke or blow.

   Hit that wedge a good lick with the sledgehammer.

5. A bit.

   You don't have a lick of sense.

   I didn't do a lick of work today.

6. A short motif.

   There are some really good blues licks in this solo.

Related terms

• ass-licker
• cow lick
• good lick
• lick one's chops
• lick one's wounds
• lick up
• licked
• lickety split

Lick may refer to:

• Licking, passing the tongue over a surface
• Lick (music), a short phrase, or series of notes, often improvised by a musician
• Lick (band), an American band, fl. 1990s
• Lick (album), by The Lemonheads
• Lick granuloma, a skin disorder in dogs
• Lick Township, Jackson County, Ohio, United States
• Salt lick, a salt deposit that animals regularly lick
• Lick (stream), a small or ephemeral stream

In things named after James Lick (see people, below):

• Lick (crater), a crater on the Moon
• Lick Observatory, an astronomical observatory in California, United States
• James Lick telescope, a telescope in the observatory; also called the "Great Lick Refractor" or "Lick Refractor"
• James Lick Freeway, U.S. Route 101 in California
• James Lick High School, near San Jose, California
• James Lick Mansion, Lick's estate in Santa Clara, California
• James Lick Skyway, a connector freeway in San Francisco, California
• 1951 Lick, an asteroid

In people:

• Dennis Lick (born 1954), American professional football lineman 1976 - 1981
• Jacklyn Lick (born 1974), American pornographic actress
• James Lick (1796 – 1876), American carpenter, land baron, and patron of the sciences
• J. C. R. Licklider (1915 - 1990), American computer scientist, nicknamed "Lick"

See also

• Licking (disambiguation)
• Lick High School (disambiguation)

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