Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: MATHS

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: solide, from Latin solidus

solid

1 adjective
     
sol‧id1 S3 W3
1

firm/hard

hard or firm, with a fixed shape, and not a liquid or gas:
The lake was frozen solid.
It was good to be back on solid ground again.
Is the baby eating solid food (=bread, meat etc) yet?
The ship's sonar can detect the presence of solid objects in the water.
2

only one material

consisting completely of one type of material
solid gold/silver etc
a solid gold cup
solid wood/pine/oak etc
a chest made of solid oak
3

not hollow

having no holes or spaces inside [≠ hollow]:
a solid rubber ball
a shrine carved out of solid rock
4

without spaces

continuous, without any spaces or breaks:
It's not safe to pass when the lines in the middle of the road are solid.
5

strongly made

strong and well made [≠ flimsy]:
a solid piece of furniture
The frame is as solid as a rock (=extremely solid).
6

good and long-lasting

a solid achievement or solid work is of real, practical, and continuing value:
five years of solid achievement
The first two years provide a solid foundation in the basics of computing.
7

dependable

someone or something that is solid can be depended on or trusted:
The prosecution in this case has no solid evidence.
You can rely on Wylie for good solid advice.
a solid Labour stronghold (=where people always vote for this party)
8

continuing without interruption

informal used to emphasize that something continues for a long time without any pauses:
The lecture lasted two solid hours.
five hours/two weeks etc solid
On Saturday I went to bed and slept fourteen hours solid.
9

packed solid

informal if shops, trains, buses etc are packed solid, they are full of people
10

on solid ground

confident because you are dealing with a subject you are sure about, or because you are in a safe situation:
To make sure that he was on solid ground, he confirmed his findings with others.
11

good

British English informal good
12

difficult

British English informal very difficult:
I couldn't do any of the maths last night - it was solid.
13

shape

technicalHM having length, width, and height [= three-dimensional]:
A sphere is a solid figure.
14

in agreement

be solid

British English to be in complete agreement:
The workers are 100% solid on this issue.
—solidly adverb:
solidly built
—solidness noun [uncountable]
WORD FOCUS: hard WORD FOCUS: hard
hard and not bending: solid, firm, stiff, rigid
meat that is too hard: tough
skin that is old and hard: leathery, calloused
hard and easily broken: brittle

➔ See also hard
Definition of solid from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic MATHS
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