# slice

Pronunciation: say "SLYS" /slaɪs/

## Noun

1. A thin, broad piece cut from something larger.
   - Simple: A thin, flat piece cut from something bigger.
   - _He laid a slice of ham across the warm bread._
   - _Each apple slice was dipped in melted caramel._
4. A wedge-shaped piece of pizza, cut from a round pie.
   - Simple: A triangle-shaped piece of pizza.
   - _She folded the slice in half before taking a bite._
   - _Two slices and a soda is his usual lunch order._
5. A portion or share of something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A part or share of something larger.
   - _The investors each took a slice of the deal._
   - _After years of hard work, he finally got his slice of the fame._
6. A contiguous section of an array, made up of elements that sit next to one another.
   - Simple: A connected part of a list of items in a computer program.
   - _The function returns a slice of the array containing the first ten elements._
   - _He extracted a slice spanning indices three through seven._
8. A golf shot that, for a right-handed player, curves unintentionally to the right.
   - Simple: A golf shot that curves to the side by mistake.
   - _Her slice drifted well right of the green._
   - _He fought a persistent slice all season._
9. A heavy, tray-baked cake or dessert cut into squarish pieces. *(Australia, New Zealand, UK)*
   - Simple: A heavy cake or dessert baked in a tray and cut into square pieces.
   - _The bakery's caramel slice sold out before noon._
   - _He grabbed a slice with his afternoon cup of tea._
10. A baked snack made of pastry enclosing a savory filling. *(British)*
   - Simple: A baked pastry snack with a savory filling inside.
   - _The bakery's bacon slice was still warm from the oven._
   - _He grabbed a slice and a coffee before the train._
11. A cross-sectional image of an internal organ produced by MRI, CT, or x-ray.
   - Simple: A single cross-section image of the inside of the body.
   - _The radiologist scrolled through every slice of the CT scan._
   - _Each slice revealed a thin layer of the patient's abdomen._
12. Something that is thin and broad in form.
   - Simple: A thin, wide, flat object or piece.
   - _A flat slice of slate served as a serving board._
   - _He balanced the food on a broad slice of bark._
16. A type of cut shot in cricket in which the bat meets the ball at an obtuse angle to the batter.
   - Simple: In cricket, a batting shot played with the bat held at a wide, open angle.
   - _The batsman's slice flew between the slips for a boundary._
   - _A well-timed slice can find the gap behind point._
17. A knife with a thin, broad blade for lifting and serving fish; also a flat spatula for spreading paint, ink, or similar substances.
   - Simple: A wide, flat kitchen tool used to lift and serve fish, or to spread things like paint.
   - _The cook turned the poached salmon with a broad-bladed slice._
   - _The painter smoothed the thick paint across the board with a slice._
19. A broad, thin sheet or piece of plaster.
   - Simple: A broad, thin piece of plaster used in building work.
   - _A loose slice of plaster crumbled off the damp ceiling overnight._
   - _The mason pressed a thin slice of plaster into the gap between the bricks._
20. A salver, platter, or tray for carrying or serving food and drink.
   - Simple: A flat tray or platter for carrying or serving things.
   - _The butler presented the letters on a silver slice._
   - _A heavy brass slice held the decanter and glasses._
22. A flat iron plate with a handle, shaped like a chisel or spade, used for stripping planking from ships, cutting blubber from whales, or stirring a coal fire.
   - Simple: A flat iron tool with a handle, used to strip planks, cut blubber, or stir a coal fire.
   - _The shipwright pried the old planks loose with a heavy slice._
   - _He drove the slice beneath the whale's skin to peel away the blubber._
23. One of the wedges used to lift the cradle and ship clear of the building blocks in preparation for launching.
   - Simple: In shipbuilding, one of the wedges used to raise a ship off its blocks before launching it.
   - _The yard crew drove a slice under the cradle to raise the ship for launch._
   - _As each slice took the weight, the hull rose slowly off its keel blocks._
25. In printing, a removable sliding bottom fitted to a galley, the tray that holds set type.
   - Simple: In printing, a sliding bottom panel that can be removed from a type tray.
   - _The compositor slid the slice free, easing the type onto the stone._
   - _Each galley had a slice that slipped out from one end._
26. In falconry, the droppings of a hawk or falcon expelled at a sideways angle rather than straight down.
   - Simple: In falconry, a hawk's droppings that shoot out sideways rather than straight down.
   - _A long slice streaked the mews wall behind the perched goshawk._
   - _The keeper could tell the bird was healthy from the clean slice on the floor._

## Verb

2. To cut something into thin, broad pieces.
   - Simple: To cut something into thin, flat pieces.
   - _She wants to slice the cake into equal pieces._
   - _The chef sliced the roast at the table._
3. To cut something with the edge of a blade drawn across it.
   - Simple: To cut something by pulling a sharp edge across it.
   - _The surgeon sliced the tissue with a single careful stroke._
   - _A skilled fencer can slice an apple clean in half._
7. To hit the ball so that it curves to the right, for a right-handed player.
   - Simple: To hit a golf ball so it curves to the side, usually by mistake.
   - _She sliced her tee shot badly on the final hole._
   - _A tense grip will make you slice the ball._
13. To hit the ball with a stroke that puts spin on it, making it swerve or stay low after the bounce.
   - Simple: To hit the ball with backspin so it stays low after it bounces.
   - _He sliced his return to disrupt her rhythm._
   - _She can slice the ball so it barely rises off the court._
14. To mis-kick a ball so that it veers off the intended line, angling too sharply or rising too high.
   - Simple: To kick a ball badly so it flies off to the side instead of where you aimed.
   - _The striker sliced his shot well wide of the far post._
   - _If you slice the ball, it curves off in the wrong direction._
15. To strike the shuttlecock with the racket at an angle, making it travel sideways and downward.
   - Simple: To hit the shuttlecock at an angle so it moves sideways and down.
   - _He sliced the shuttlecock sharply, sending it tumbling sideways across the court._
   - _Skilled players slice the shuttle to disguise the direction of their shots._
18. In rowing, to angle the oar blade so that it enters the water too deeply at the beginning of a stroke.
   - Simple: In rowing, to dip the oar blade too deep into the water at the start of a stroke.
   - _Beginners often slice the blade and bury it too far below the surface._
   - _He sliced the oar on the catch and nearly lost his balance._
21. To clear a fire or the grate bars of a furnace by raking them with a slice bar.
   - Simple: To clear ash and burnt waste from a fire or furnace using a special iron bar.
   - _The fireman would slice the furnace bars whenever the draft grew weak._
   - _She sliced the clogged grate until the coals glowed freely again._

## Adjective

24. In knot theory, describing a knot that bounds a smoothly embedded disk in the four-dimensional ball.
   - Simple: In math, describing a knot that can be closed off by a smooth, flat surface in a bigger space.
   - _Every slice knot bounds a disk in the four-dimensional ball._
   - _Determining whether a given knot is slice remains a deep problem in topology._

## Origin

From Middle English sclise, from Old French esclice ('a piece split off'), formed from the verb esclicer ('to splinter, split up'). This traces back through Frankish *slitjan ('to split up') and Proto-Germanic roots meaning 'to split, tear apart', ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to rend, injure, crumble'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/slice (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).