solid Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun matter that is solid at room temperature and pressure
  2. noun the state in which a substance has no tendency to flow under moderate stress; resists forces (such as compression) that tend to deform it; and retains a definite size and shape
    solidness; solid state.
  3. noun a three-dimensional shape
  4. adjective satellite characterized by good substantial quality
    • solid comfort
    • a solid base hit
  5. adjective of definite shape and volume; firm; neither liquid nor gaseous
    • ice is water in the solid state
  6. adjective entirely of one substance with no holes inside
    • a solid block of wood
  7. adjective satellite of one substance or character throughout
    • solid gold
    • carved out of solid rock
  8. adjective satellite uninterrupted in space; having no gaps or breaks
    • a solid line across the page
    • solid sheets of water
  9. adjective satellite providing abundant nourishment
    substantial; hearty; square; satisfying.
    • a hearty meal
    • good solid food
    • ate a substantial breakfast
    • four square meals a day
  10. adjective satellite of good quality and condition; solidly built
    strong; substantial.
    • a solid foundation
    • several substantial timber buildings
  11. adjective satellite not soft or yielding to pressure
    firm.
    • a firm mattress
    • the snow was firm underfoot
    • solid ground
  12. adjective satellite having three dimensions
    • a solid object
  13. adjective satellite impenetrable for the eye
    • solid blackness
  14. adjective satellite financially sound
    • the bank is solid and will survive this attack
  15. adjective satellite of a substantial character and not frivolous or superficial
    • work of solid scholarship
    • based on solid facts
  16. adjective satellite meriting respect or esteem
    upstanding.
    • an upstanding member of the community
  17. adjective satellite of the same color throughout
    self-coloured; self-colored.
    • solid color
  18. adjective satellite acting together as a single undiversified whole
    whole; unanimous.
    • a solid voting bloc

WordNet

Sol"id adjective
Etymology
L. solidus, probably akin to sollus whole, entire, Gr. : cf. F. solide. Cf. Consolidate,Soda, Solder, Soldier, Solemn.
Definitions
  1. Having the constituent parts so compact, or so firmly adhering, as to resist the impression or penetration of other bodies; having a fixed form; hard; firm; compact; -- opposed to fluid and liquid or to plastic, like clay, or to incompact, like sand.
  2. Not hollow; full of matter; as, a solid globe or cone, as distinguished from a hollow one; not spongy; dense; hence, sometimes, heavy.
  3. (Arith.) Having all the geometrical dimensions; cubic; as, a solid foot contains 1,728 solid inches. ✍ In this sense, cubics now generally used.
  4. Firm; compact; strong; stable; unyielding; as, a solid pier; a solid pile; a solid wall.
  5. Applied to a compound word whose parts are closely united and form an unbroken word; -- opposed to hyphened.
  6. Fig.: Worthy of credit, trust, or esteem; substantial, as opposed to frivolous or fallacious; weighty; firm; strong; valid; just; genuine.
    The solid purpose of a sincere and virtuous answer. Milton.
    These, wanting wit, affect gravity, and go by the name of solid men. Dryden.
    The genius of the Italians wrought by solid toil what the myth-making imagination of the Germans had projected in a poem. J. A. Symonds.
  7. Sound; not weakly; as, a solid constitution of body. I. Watts.
  8. (Bot.) Of a fleshy, uniform, undivided substance, as a bulb or root; not spongy or hollow within, as a stem.
  9. (Metaph.) Impenetrable; resisting or excluding any other material particle or atom from any given portion of space; -- applied to the supposed ultimate particles of matter.
  10. (Print.) Not having the lines separated by leads; not open.
  11. United; without division; unanimous; as, the delegation is solid for a candidate. Polit. Cant. U.S. Syn. -- Hard; firm; compact; strong; substantial; stable; sound; real; valid; true; just; weighty; profound; grave; important. -- Solid, Hard. These words both relate to the internal constitution of bodies; but hardnotes a more impenetrable nature or a firmer adherence of the component parts than solid. Hard is opposed to soft, and solid to fluid, liquid, open, or hollow. Wood is usually solid; but some kinds of wood are hard, and others are soft.
    Repose you there; while I [return] to this hard house, More harder than the stones whereof 't is raised. Shak.
    I hear his thundering voice resound, And trampling feet than shake the solid ground. Dryden.
Sol"id noun
Definitions
  1. A substance that is held in a fixed form by cohesion among its particles; a substance not fluid.
  2. (Geom.) A magnitude which has length, breadth, and thickness; a part of space bounded on all sides.

Webster 1913