skid

A sudden slide of a vehicle that the driver cannot fully control.

• The car went into a skid.
• A sudden skid sent the van toward the wall.
• The driver managed to control the skid.

How to use it: go into a skid (The bus went into a skid on the icy road.)

Similar words: slide

Common phrases: go into a skid, sudden skid, control a skid

A long support under an aircraft that lets it land or rest without wheels.

• The helicopter rested on its skids.
• One landing skid was damaged.
• The pilot lowered the aircraft until both skids touched the ground.

Similar words: runner

Common phrases: landing skid, helicopter skid, aircraft skid

A long narrow piece under a sled that slides over snow or ice.

• One skid broke under the sled.
• The wooden skids slid easily over the snow.
• He repaired both skids before the journey.

Similar words: runner

Common phrases: sled skid, wooden skid, metal skid

To slide across the ground without proper control, especially when a road is wet or icy.

• The car skidded on ice.
• His wheels skidded when he braked.
• The truck skidded off the road into a field.

How to use it: skid on something (The van skidded on the wet road.); skid into/off something (The car skidded into a fence.)

Similar words: slide, slip

Common phrases: skid on ice, skid sideways, skid off something, skid around something