oil slick
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of oil slick
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
Everyone hates regulation—until a plane crashes or an oil slick washes ashore.
From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025
The Rubymar was an “environmental disaster” even before sinking because the attack created an 18-mile oil slick, Central Command warned last month.
From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2024
Even before plunging to the ocean’s depths, the vessel had been leaking heavy fuel that triggered an 18-mile oil slick through the waterway, which is critical for cargo and energy shipments heading to Europe.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2024
Their urine is black from severe dehydration, like spots of oil slick against the bright snow.
From Salon • Jan. 23, 2024
The hapless rowboat circles the pole in the growing whirlpool and the pitch holding together its copper planks abandons it, spilling into the water like an oil slick.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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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.