lick 1 S3 / lɪk / 动词

1 tongue [及物动词] to move your tongue across the surface of something in order to eat it, wet it, clean it etc :

The dog jumped up and licked her face.

lick something ↔ up

A cat licked up the drops spilt on the floor.

lick something off something

He licked the drops off his upper lip.

2 sport [及物动词] informal to defeat an opponent :

I bet we could lick the best teams in Georgia.

3 flames/waves [不及物和及物动词] literary if flames or waves lick something, they touch it again and again with quick movements

lick at/against

Soon the flames were licking at the curtains.

4 have (got) something licked informal to have succeeded in dealing with a difficult problem :

Just when you think you’ve got it licked, it comes back.

5 lick your lips ( also lick your chops American English ) to feel eager and excited because you are expecting to get something good :

Scottish rugby fans are licking their lips in anticipation.

6 lick your wounds to quietly think about the defeat or disappointment you have just suffered

7 lick sb’s boots to obey someone completely because you are afraid of them or want to please them

→ knock/lick somebody/something into shape at shape 1 ( 3 )