slip away

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To slip away is to leave quietly — or to be lost little by little. Both happen without anybody quite noticing.

The leaving sense is social, and slipping away from a party avoids the whole business of saying goodbye, which some people consider rude and others consider a kindness. The losing sense covers time, chances and leads, so a lead that slips away has been lost gradually rather than surrendered. There is a gentle use about dying too, and somebody slipping away peacefully is a phrase families use.

Definitions of slip away

1phraseslip awayTo leave quietly without being noticed.B2
“We can slip away before the speeches.”
2phrasegraduallyTo be gradually lost.B2
“He watched the lead slip away in the last ten minutes.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 17 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

← Vocabulary

slip away

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To slip away is to leave quietly — or to be lost little by little. Both happen without anybody quite noticing.

Definitions of slip away

1phraseslip awayTo leave quietly without being noticed.B2
“We can slip away before the speeches.”
2phrasegraduallyTo be gradually lost.B2
“He watched the lead slip away in the last ten minutes.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 17 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word