Skip to main content
skid mark

skid mark

12 3.2
A dark line on a road where a tire slides during a sudden stop
  • noun
  • /skɪd mɑrk/
translation icon : marca de frenada
  • The police found no skid marks and drew their conclusions.
  • leave skid marks
  • skid marks on the road
  • measure skid marks

We did find a few skid marks on this road.

Examples

  • I think the skid marks tell the rest of the story.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • However, state troopers say there were no other skid marks on the road or witnesses to corroborate his tale.

    Blog text (19)
  • We did find a few skid marks on this road.

  • The skid marks are here, yet the truck's over 100 feet away.

  • The state trooper who measured the skid marks estimated it was going under 50.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Just north of the guardrail, skid marks led across the shoulder and down the embankment.

    Blog text (12)
  • COUNSEL: The police report says that there were skid marks in the driveway that would indicate you were traveling at more than 30 miles per hour when your car hit the street.

  • - Well, the place was still swarming with accident investigators questioning witnesses, measuring skid marks when I left.

  • There were no skid marks at the scene of the accident.

  • From the looks of these skid marks, whoever was driving sure stopped in a hurry.

Synonyms

mark
vsskid mark
468 1.0

A visible line, spot, scratch, or stain on a surface

is a specific tire-produced streak from sudden braking or loss of control
skid
vsskid mark
19 3.0

A long mark left on the road when tires slip

is a streak caused by sudden braking or loss of control
marking
vsskid mark
3 1.9

Making a visible sign on a surface like a wall or paper

is the physical streak left by tires after sudden braking

How Visible

gouge
4 7.0
skid mark
12 3.2
scuff
8 2.6
to smudge
30 3.7

Surface Forms

skid mark singular
skid marks plural

Morphology

skid + mark

The meaning 'a mark left on a surface by a tire sliding' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'skid' (a tire track from sliding) with 'mark' (a visible spot). This straightforward noun+noun composition is common in English and many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun skid mark comes from the black line a car tire makes when it skids across the road and leaves a mark. So, the phrase now means the visible streak left on the road by a tire after sudden braking or when a driver loses control.