glide path

noun

1

: glide slope

2

: a course of action that leads easily to an expected outcome

While Markey has been a fine member of Congress for decades, he isn't owed a glide path to another term.

—Adrian Walker

… a state that invests more in locking up prisoners than in opening doors to education is on a glide path to mediocrity.

—John Stobo

Elite law schools are not always a glide path to becoming a partner at a big law firm.

—Elizabeth Olson

Examples of glide path in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Broncos’ fate remains unsettled after a 30-24 overtime loss to the Bengals that pushed what once looked like a glide path to the playoffs to the uncomfortably steep terrain of Week 18. —Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 28 Dec. 2024

Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill appeared earlier this week to be on a glide path to passing a funding bill that would prevent a shutdown that would be triggered early Saturday morning. —Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 19 Dec. 2024

The glide path strategy is a method of asset allocation that gradually shifts your portfolio’s focus from growth priority to an income priority as you near retirement. —Larry Light, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

So, barring a non-Democrat billionaire or celebrity who can buy airwaves and attention, whoever wins the Democratic-voters-only primary is on a glide path to win a go-through-the-motions general election against a sacrificial Republican. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1