slick
Americanadjective
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slicker,
comparative
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slickest
superlative
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smooth and glossy; sleek.
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smooth in manners, speech, etc.; suave.
-
sly; shrewdly adroit.
He's a slick customer, all right.
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ingenious; cleverly devised.
a slick plan to get out of work.
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slippery, especially from being covered with or as if with ice, water, or oil.
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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.
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Slang. wonderful; fantastic; first-rate.
noun
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slicks
plural
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a smooth or slippery place or spot or the substance causing it.
oil slick.
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Informal.
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a magazine printed on paper having a more or less glossy finish.
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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.
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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.
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any of various paddlelike tools for smoothing a surface.
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Automotive. a wide tire without a tread, used in racing.
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Military Slang. a helicopter.
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Metallurgy. a small trowel used for smoothing the surface of a mold.
adverb
verb (used with object)
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slicks,
present (3rd person singular)
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slicked,
past participle, past
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slicking
present participle
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to make sleek or smooth.
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to use a slicker on (skins or hides).
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Informal. to spruce up; make smart or fine (usually followed byup ).
adjective
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flattering and glib
a slick salesman
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adroitly devised or executed
a slick show
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informal shrewd; sly
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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
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to make smooth or sleek
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informal (usually foll by up) to smarten or tidy (oneself)
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(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
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"Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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All The Feels: Touching Words For Textures
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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:
A slick move after three minutes resulted in Amelia Brown scoring the England opener, before Wales got their time in the sun.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
A ruthless blend of silky flicks and slick off-the-ball movement that saw a dazed City caught several frames behind.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Social-media users are savaging promotions depicting unnaturally regular greens, shrimp like O-rings, unhealthily slick noodles and stippled chicken.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“It’ll be slick as a car hood from the slime on their bellies,” Walters says.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The floor beneath them changed from rigid stone to something wet and slick, surrounding….
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
Nearly lost the car on slicks during the formation procedure and ultimately fell all the way to 16th as Alpine's gamble failed to pay off.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Large stretches of the island's shoreline appear affected and "additional oil slicks extend far out to sea, further polluting and damaging this protected marine ecosystem", Noelle said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
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
His hair is longer than it used to be too, and he either lets it go wild or slicks it back.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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
“Happiness is slicker, bouncier. Joy is wider, deeper.”
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2025
The city slicker in the paddock wiping manure off his shoe was Mohammed “Mo” Amer, the Palestinian-Texan comedian behind Netflix‘s acclaimed comedy “Mo.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2025
Doon buckled his tool belt around his waist and put on his slicker, which, for some reason, smelled like sweaty feet.
From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau
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
What difference has the world’s biggest and slickest art fair organizer made?
From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2022
Liz Truss has acknowledged that she is not the slickest media performer and what some senior Tories describe as her "wooden" style could impact on her prospects.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2022
Trea Turner, the Dodgers’ slickest baserunner, explains how he developed the smoothest and coolest slide in baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2022
“I know city slickers when I see ’em and them thar’s two of the slickest of ’em all.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Eventually, Giuliani appears in the flesh, his blond hair slicked back like his father’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
In the past year, performative masc competitions have appeared across the country, with lesbians — hair slicked back and carabiners dangling from their Carhartt jeans — showing off in front of leering crowds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 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
Willcox, who by now had been lent a sweater and some pants, insisted there had never been any bombs, only oxygen canisters and the diesel fuel that now slicked the water in the harbor.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
After a long drink he handed it to Mark, who relished every drop as it slicked his parched mouth and throat.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
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
Sure, it’s a stagy premise, and the script might benefit from more nuance, especially in the figure of Charlie, whom Holum portrays by slicking pomade into her hair and strutting around like Elvis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2016
“Hey, Christy! Cool shirt! Heart emoji. I have the sunglasses one! I am slick,” he says, and mimics slicking back his hair.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
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