to slice through
10
4.1
- phrasal verb
:
surcar
- These laser cutters slice through tissue and bone like butter.
- sliced through the air
- sliced through the water
- sliced through the sky
On the other hand, it slices through bodies and lives and hopes and dreams.
- On the other hand, it slices through bodies and lives and hopes and dreams.
- And I don't know this vertex you'll end up slicing through this guy.
- Eventually, frigid light slices through Ivy, old timey garbage now paved at Haymarket.
- Yeah, when you, when you slice through that shit, slide butter.
- And while it is awful right now, I've learned you have to go through that clash to slice through the shit.
Examples
-
A dark shadow sliced through the hot beam of the spotlight.
-
The boat sent back a creamy wake as it sliced through the ocean.
Fiction book (1999) -
On the other hand, it slices through bodies and lives and hopes and dreams.
-
But they can slice through flesh and muscle, allowing you to cut the cancer away.
-
They slice through the air.
-
Through an invisible crack in the wall, a pale ray of light slices through the dirty, frozen air.
Fiction book (2000) -
A shadow passed across the doorway, slicing through the path of sunlight.
Fiction book (1993) -
This gigantic creature has razor-sharp wings that can slice through full-grown trees.
-
His violet gaze seemed to slice through her spirit, cutting cleanly, leaving no jagged edges.
Fiction book (1994) -
The knife slices through the bread effortlessly, leaving neat pieces behind.
Synonyms
343
2.8
To move quickly in a new direction, often to take a shortcut
203
1.0
To cut something into thin flat pieces with a knife
100
2.8
To make a long narrow cut in something
89
2.3
To make something into smaller pieces using a knife or tool
53
3.0
To cut forcefully with a knife or sharp tool
51
3.0
To go straight across a place, for example through land or a crowd
8
8.0
To cut something in two using a sharp tool like an axe
8
3.2
To go through a place like a park to make a shorter route
4
7.9
To cut across a place in a straight line and divide it
3
4.2
Move a sharp object into something to cut it
2
7.4
To move quickly and smoothly through water or snow
1
5.4
To cut across a piece of wood at an angle to fit it
How Smooth
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to move or cut through something quickly and smoothly' is directly derivable from combining 'slice' (to cut into pieces) with 'through' (from one side to the other). This is a literal, compositional verb + directional particle construction common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The verb slice through comes from the image of a sharp blade: slice (a smooth cut) moving through something, like a knife through butter. So it means 'to move or cut quickly and smoothly'.