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oil slick

American

noun

a smooth area on the surface of water caused by the presence of oil.

oil slick British

noun

a mass of floating oil covering an area of water, esp oil that has leaked or been discharged from a ship

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

A boom helps contain the worst of the oil slick, which has stained 30 miles of coastline.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2025

The coast guard has detected an oil slick stretching to about four kilometres, describing it as "enormous".

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2024

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

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023