lick
verb/lɪk/
/lɪk/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they lick | /lɪk/ /lɪk/ |
| he / she / it licks | /lɪks/ /lɪks/ |
| past simple licked | /lɪkt/ /lɪkt/ |
| past participle licked | /lɪkt/ /lɪkt/ |
| -ing form licking | /ˈlɪkɪŋ/ /ˈlɪkɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] to move your tongue over the surface of something in order to eat it, make it wet or clean it
舔 - lick something He licked his fingers.
他舔了舔自己的手指。 - I'm tired of licking envelopes.
我舔信封都舔烦了。 - The cat sat licking its paws.
那只猫坐着舔爪子。 - lick something + adj. She licked the spoon clean.
她把调羹舔得干干净净。
- lick something He licked his fingers.
- [transitive] lick something + adv./prep. to eat or drink something by licking it
舔吃；舔着喝 - The cat licked up the milk.
猫把牛奶舔光了。 - She licked the honey off the spoon.
她舔光了调羹上的蜂蜜。
- The cat licked up the milk.
- [transitive, intransitive] (of flames) to touch something lightly
掠过；（火舌）舔食 - lick something Flames were soon licking the curtains.
火焰很快就烧着了窗帘。 - lick at something The flames were now licking at their feet.
火焰现正在他们脚下蔓延。
- lick something Flames were soon licking the curtains.
- [transitive] lick somebody/something (informal) to easily defeat somebody or deal with something
轻松战胜；轻易对付 - We thought we had them licked.
我们以为已经轻易地把他们对付过去了。 - It was a tricky problem but I think we've licked it.
这是一个棘手的问题，但我认为我们轻而易举地把它解决了。
- We thought we had them licked.
Word OriginOld English liccian, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch likken and German lecken, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek leikhein and Latin lingere.
Idioms
get/knock/lick somebody into shape
- to train somebody so that they do a particular job, task, etc. well
把某人培养成材（或训练出来） - It took him just two weeks to knock the new recruits into shape.
他只用了两周时间就让新兵们都成型了。
- It took him just two weeks to knock the new recruits into shape.
lick somebody’s boots
(British English, taboo, slang lick somebody’s arse)
- (disapproving) to show too much respect for somebody in authority because you want to please them
阿谀奉承；谄媚；拍马屁
lick/get/knock somebody into shape
- to train somebody so that they do a particular job, task, etc. well
把某人培养成材（或训练出来） - Leave the boy with me—I'll soon lick him into shape!
把这孩子留在我身边吧——我很快就会把他舔干净！
- Leave the boy with me—I'll soon lick him into shape!
lick your lips
- to move your tongue over your lips, especially before eating something good
（尤指在吃好东西前）舔嘴唇 - (also smack your lips)(informal) to show that you are excited about something and want it to happen soon
迫不及待；渴望 - They were licking their lips at the thought of clinching the deal.
他们一想到马上要做成这笔交易就显得急不可待了。
- They were licking their lips at the thought of clinching the deal.
lick your wounds
- to spend time trying to get your strength or confidence back after a defeat or a disappointing experience
（经历失败或失望后）恢复元气，重整旗鼓 - Leeds are still licking their wounds after their humiliating defeat by Grimsby.
在惨败于格里姆斯比之后，利兹联队仍在舔舐伤口。
- Leeds are still licking their wounds after their humiliating defeat by Grimsby.