to slip out
31
3.8
- phrasal verb
- /slɪp aʊt/
- When the meeting got boring, he decided to slip out to grab a coffee.
- slip out the back door
- slip out of the house
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Watch on YouTubeBut I did have the tools I needed to slip out of the house once in a while on farm and prowl around Baltimore.
- But I did have the tools I needed to slip out of the house once in a while on farm and prowl around Baltimore.
- So when you slip out after giving evidence, how do you know that any of the two lads mates on the court would be cleared first?
Examples
-
Some time later, Old Mrs. Kern slipped out the door and went up the hill to her house.
Fiction book (1992) -
"See you on the throne," Wulfrith called over his shoulder as he slipped out the door.
Fiction book (1993) -
We can slip out the back, man.
-
During dinner, I slipped out and I made a call and I told her about you.
-
In the middle of the night, two boys slipped out of the house and went over to scare the girls.
Academic text (2016) -
You'd better slip out again and stay out till after daylight.
-
All we have to do is find an aristocrat and slip out while she's distracted.
-
Koop pushed open the car door, slipped out, and started down the sidewalk.
Fiction book (1994) -
No, better to creep downstairs as softly as a cat and slip out unnoticed.
Fiction book (1991) -
With the end of the Lopez Portillo government, Durazo quietly slipped out of the country.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
876
3.5
Leave a person, place, or situation without taking part anymore
851
2.8
To move or take something quietly so others do not notice
232
2.3
Leave a room or building briefly
167
3.7
To leave a place quietly so no one notices you
55
3.4
To leave a place quietly without anyone noticing
48
3.7
To leave a place quickly and secretly to avoid trouble
35
4.0
Leave a place quietly so others do not notice
32
8.1
Leave a place suddenly and secretly to avoid trouble or debt
26
6.7
To move quietly and carefully to avoid being seen
21
3.6
To leave a place quietly without being noticed
20
6.3
To leave a meeting or party quietly so no one notices
17
7.2
To leave a place quickly and quietly to avoid something you should do
6
7.9
To leave a place quickly, often without saying goodbye
5
9.9
To leave a place suddenly without telling anyone to avoid trouble
4
8.5
To leave a place quickly and secretly to avoid being caught
3
3.2
To leave a place for a short time to do something
2
7.9
Leave a place or conversation quietly to avoid attention
2
9.1
To leave a place quietly or suddenly without telling others
1
7.7
To move quietly to the side and away so people do not notice you
1
9.9
To leave a place quickly and secretly, often taking things or someone
Antonyms
How Quiet
- Formal
11
8.5
- Informal
167
3.7
31
3.8
∞
1.0
232
2.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to leave a place quietly or secretly' is directly compositional from 'slip' (to move smoothly/quietly) + 'out' (away from the interior), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the sense. This verb+particle motion pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English phrasal-verb composition, making the expression predictable and transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb slip out comes from the image of someone quietly sliding away from a room: to slip is to move smoothly and quietly and out shows they leave. So it means 'to leave a place quietly or secretly, without being noticed'.