licked; licking; licks
1
a(1)
: to draw the tongue over
(2)
: to flicker over like a tongue
b
: to take into the mouth with the tongue : lap
1
2
3
a
: a natural salt deposit (such as a salt spring) that animals lick
b
: a block of often medicated saline preparation given to livestock to lick
4
: a musical figure
specifically
: an interpolated and usually improvised figure or flourish
Synonyms
Verb
- bash
- baste
- bat
- batter
- beat
- belabor
- belt
- birch
- bludgeon
- buffet
- bung up
- club
- curry
- do
- drub
- fib [British]
- flog
- hammer
- hide
- lace
- lambaste
- lambast
- lash
- lather
- maul
- mess (up)
- paddle
- pelt
- pommel
- pound
- pummel
- punch out
- rough (up)
- slate
- slog
- switch
- tan
- thrash
- thresh
- thump
- tromp
- wallop
- whale
- whip
- whop
- whap
- whup
- work over
Noun
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Examples of lick in a Sentence
Verb
He licked the stamp before putting it on the envelope.
The dog licked at the plate.
She licked the sauce off her finger.
The cat licked the milk off her paws.
Flames were already licking the ceiling.
Flames were already licking at the ceiling.
Noun
Could I have a lick of your ice cream?
It just needs a lick of paint.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 21 Nov. 2024
Zia was licking herself and developing hotspots from itchiness.
—Jen McCaffery, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
Charlie Campbell, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024
He can be heard playing piano on the recordings of numerous scores featuring studio orchestras, including the famous driving piano lick in the Peter Gunn theme.
—EW.com, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lick 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Most other social mammals groom by licking, but primates are unique among tetrapod vertebrates in our reliance on hands and feet for tasks many other taxa use their faces for, says Borths.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 21 Nov. 2024
Zia was licking herself and developing hotspots from itchiness.
—Jen McCaffery, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
By Charlie Campbell / Dhaka, Bangladesh November 21, 2024 12:00 AM EST
Dhaka looks reborn after a fresh lick of paint.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024
He can be heard playing piano on the recordings of numerous scores featuring studio orchestras, including the famous driving piano lick in the Peter Gunn theme.
—EW.com, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lick
Dictionary Entries Near lick
Cite this Entry
“Lick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lick. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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