slick
Americanadjective
-
smooth and glossy; sleek.
-
smooth in manners, speech, etc.; suave.
-
sly; shrewdly adroit.
He's a slick customer, all right.
-
ingenious; cleverly devised.
a slick plan to get out of work.
-
slippery, especially from being covered with or as if with ice, water, or oil.
-
deftly executed and having surface appeal or sophistication, but shallow or glib in content; polished but superficial.
a writer who has mastered every formula of slick fiction.
-
Slang. wonderful; fantastic; first-rate.
noun
-
a smooth or slippery place or spot or the substance causing it.
oil slick.
-
Informal.
-
a magazine printed on paper having a more or less glossy finish.
-
such a magazine regarded as possessing qualities, as expensiveness, chic, and sophistication, that hold appeal for a particular readership, as one whose members enjoy or are seeking affluence.
-
such a magazine regarded as having a sophisticated, deftly executed, but shallow or glib literary content.
-
-
any woodworking chisel having a blade more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide.
-
any of various paddlelike tools for smoothing a surface.
-
Automotive. a wide tire without a tread, used in racing.
-
Military Slang. a helicopter.
-
Metallurgy. a small trowel used for smoothing the surface of a mold.
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
to make sleek or smooth.
-
to use a slicker on (skins or hides).
-
Informal. to spruce up; make smart or fine (usually followed byup ).
adjective
-
flattering and glib
a slick salesman
-
adroitly devised or executed
a slick show
-
informal shrewd; sly
-
informal superficially attractive
a slick publication
-
smooth and glossy; slippery
noun
-
a slippery area, esp a patch of oil floating on water
-
a chisel or other tool used for smoothing or polishing a surface
-
the tyre of a racing car that has worn treads
verb
-
to make smooth or sleek
-
informal (usually foll by up) to smarten or tidy (oneself)
-
(often foll by up) to make smooth or glossy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slicksimple
-
slickssimple
-
have slickedperfect
-
has slickedperfect
-
am slickingprogressive
-
are slickingprogressive
-
is slickingprogressive
-
have been slickingperfect progressive
-
has been slickingperfect progressive
Past
-
slickedsimple
-
had slickedperfect
-
was slickingprogressive
-
were slickingprogressive
-
had been slickingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slick
First recorded before 900 for the verb, 1350–1400 for the adjective; Middle English verb slicke(n), Old English (nīw)slīcod “(newly) polished”; Middle English adjective slik(e), slyk(e), from unrecorded Old English slice; cognate with dialectal Dutch sleek “even, smooth”; noun derivative of the verb or adjective; adverb derivative of the adjective
Explanation
Slick means smooth or slippery, but it can also describe a smooth, effortless style. How did that Girl Scout talk you into buying so many boxes of cookies? It must have been her slick sales pitch. A great salesman is often described as slick — he or she seems more like a friend than someone trying to sell you something. Things that are smooth and glossy can also be called slick, like the surface of a glass table or an icy patch on the sidewalk. Slick is also a verb, meaning "to smooth," like when you slick back your hair. The oldest meaning of slick is shiny, and in the 1620s, it was even the name of a kind of cosmetic.
Vocabulary lists containing slick
The Skin I'm In
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
All The Feels: Touching Words For Textures
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He has since reinvented himself as a man of the people, melding a relaxed, folksy style with slick social media videos.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
While Ireland improved in the second half, head coach Andy Farrell will rue an error-riddled opening 40 minutes which left his side chasing a slick and cohesive All Blacks unit.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
With his slick black hair and steely gaze, he was practically born for the part.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Mr. Okrent has an eye for the era’s characters, from relentless temperance crusaders to slick bootleggers and local citizens who regarded the complicated legal regime of prohibition as a novel business opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Fred wasn’t great about remembering to slick up his pits in the morning.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
The threat to desalination plants posed by missiles or possible oil slicks should also not be underestimated.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026
Delpique is over six feet tall and slicks his dark hair straight back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2025
And Hamilton justified the decision with a series of excellent, improvisational overtaking moves to rise to 13th place before becoming the first driver to stop for slicks on lap 11, one before Piastri.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
Altogether, the color, flavor and textural differentiation is incredibly varied: briny, oily, herbaceous sauce slicks the crisped salmon, with the crunchy leeks providing another dimension of flavor and texture.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2025
In the night, you couldn’t even see the oil slicks on the water.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
Dr. Makary is slicker than a pharmaceutical salesman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Skiers have to re-don their skis at the top for one final climb, and Fatton was much slicker than Harrop, racing away to a lead she never looked likely to relinquish.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Mostly that has meant pretending to be a Real American by riding horses, going hunting or driving around in a pick-up to prove they aren’t some effete city slicker.
From Salon ● Nov. 23, 2025
As studio horror has gotten slicker and funnier, closer to an amusement park ride than anything truly unnerving, it’s probably better to judge these films for their date-like qualities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2025
When I reached the last house, where the narrow street turned into a path across the marsh, I went down on my hands and knees, shoved my slicker up out of the way, and crawled.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Back then, he walked into a humming, world championship–caliber operation, where everything had been optimized to the slickest, shiniest possible standards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
“Polite Society” doesn’t need the slickest fight choreography or the most innovative plot devices or the zingiest lines to make its combo platter work, either.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
What difference has the world’s biggest and slickest art fair organizer made?
From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2022
To avoid conviction, she hires Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to help her dupe the public, media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by creating shocking headlines.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2022
“That’s the slickest working thing I’ve ever seen. You’re right. If I ever get a monkey in it, he would sure be a caught monkey, wouldn’t he?”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Eventually, Giuliani appears in the flesh, his blond hair slicked back like his father’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
A childhood Liverpool fan, she used to run around the house in a replica shirt, her curly hair slicked back to resemble Spanish striker Fernando Torres.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
On this afternoon, he is dressed in black, auburn hair slicked back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
The finished dish should be incredibly silky and thick, with perfectly al dente noodles slicked in a rich, lemony sauce.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2025
I’ve slicked it with super-hold gel and dared even one strand to jump out of place.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
It's easy to see the oil slicking the surface and when I dip my hand in, it comes out streaked with oil.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
In this easy weeknight recipe, lime juice and a touch of soy sauce accentuate the citrusy, savory spice, especially once reduced to a sticky pan sauce for slicking pork chops.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
That extra fat fortifies them, slicking each tooth-like kernel so that it catches the gleam of the sun.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2022
A few months ago, I noticed that the part of my hairline I’d been avoiding, relaxing, pushing, hiding, slicking back my entire life had quietly overtaken my timeline: sideburns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
Barney Northrup said, slicking his black moustache and straightening his hand-painted tie in the lobby's mirrored wall.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
