licked

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lick

(lĭk)

v. licked, lick·ing, licks

v.tr.

1. To pass the tongue over or along: lick a stamp.

2. To lap up: The cat licked the milk from the bowl.

3. To lap or flicker at like a tongue: The waves licked the sides of the boat.

4. Slang

a. To beat or thrash.

b. To defeat soundly: licked their rivals in lacrosse.

c. To deal with effectively; overcome: licked her weight problem.

v.intr.

To pass or lap quickly and rapidly: The flames licked at our feet.

1. The act or process of licking.

2. An amount obtained by licking: a lick of ice cream.

3. A small quantity; a bit: hasn't got a lick of common sense.

4. A deposit of exposed natural salt that is licked by passing animals.

5. Slang A sudden hard stroke; a blow.

6. Slang An attempt; a try: Why not give those skis a lick?

7. Informal Speed; pace: moving along at a good lick.

8. Music A phrase improvised by a soloist, especially on the guitar or banjo.

Idioms:

lick and a promise

A superficial effort made without care or enthusiasm.

lick into shape Informal

To bring into satisfactory condition or appearance.

lick (one's) chops

To anticipate delightedly.

lick (one's) wounds

To recuperate after a defeat.

lick (someone's) boots

To behave in a servile or obsequious manner toward someone.

[Middle English licken, from Old English liccian; see leigh- in Indo-European roots.]

lick′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Adj.

licked - having been got the better of; "I'm pretty beat up but I don't feel licked yet"

colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

defeated - beaten or overcome; not victorious; "the defeated enemy"

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References in classic literature ?

Why couldn't Cheese-Face be licked? he often thought; that would put him, Martin, out of his misery.

The boys congratulated him, and told him that he had licked Cheese-Face.

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She went straight to the church, slunk to the little pot of fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off.

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She went straight to the church, stole to the pot of fat, began to lick at it, and licked the top of the fat off.

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But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognised his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog.

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There is indeed another custom, which I cannot altogether approve of: when the king has a mind to put any of his nobles to death in a gentle indulgent manner, he commands the floor to be strewed with a certain brown powder of a deadly composition, which being licked up, infallibly kills him in twenty-four hours.

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"Which licked? Sit down here on the hat-box and tell me all about it!"

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Still the flowing stream Sweeps on, but the swift torrents of green hours Are licked into the brazen skies between Their widening banks.

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At unt half a man, and I'll lick thee as well as wast ever licked in thy life." He then bespattered the youth with abundance of that language which passes between country gentlemen who embrace opposite sides of the question; with frequent applications to him to salute that part which is generally introduced into all controversies that arise among the lower orders of the English gentry at horse-races, cock-matches, and other public places.

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"If the truth was known," he added, more soberly, "THEY'VE licked US about every clip up to now; but this time--this time--we'll lick 'em good!"

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"Nearer he came to the line of my property, and I could hear him making little moaning, whimpering noises as he licked the damp wood.

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Thou art not rich enough to present it to me." Then fell the adder again on his neck, and licked his wound.