Lick (Verb)
Meaning 1
Pass the tongue over; "the dog licked her hand".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The mother cat gently licked her newborn kitten's fur to keep it clean and warm.
- She licked her lips in anticipation of the juicy ice cream cone.
- The child couldn't resist the urge to lick the chocolate frosting off his fingers.
- While at the petting zoo, the child carefully reached out to let the friendly goat lick her hand.
- The grateful dog rewarded his owner with a sloppy lick on the face.
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Meaning 2
Beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight; "We licked the other team on Sunday!".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The home team licked their opponents in the championship game.
- Our basketball team licked last year's champions in the rematch.
- The new startup licked the established companies at the innovation awards.
- Their team licked ours in the state finals, winning the title.
- We licked the other team on Sunday, bringing home the trophy.
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Meaning 3
Find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem".
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Examples
- The team couldn't lick the mystery of the missing funds for months.
- She'd been trying to lick the problem of the wonky printer all morning.
- It took me a while, but I finally licked the math problem on my own.
- The manager struggled to lick the issue plaguing the production line for weeks.
- He said the cryptic message made no sense and he couldn't lick its meaning.
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Meaning 4
Take up with the tongue; "The cat lapped up the milk"; "the cub licked the milk from its mother's breast".
Classification
Verbs of eating and drinking.
Examples
- The cat eagerly licked the milk from the saucer that had been left on the counter.
- The thirsty puppy will lick water from the drip on the faucet if you turn it on very slowly.
- Some animals lick each other as a way of grooming one another to show affection.
- The young foal licked the mare's flank, nuzzling her gently as it searched for a place to nurse.
- In order to cool itself down, the exhausted dog began to lick its tongue in a slow and rhythmic motion.