Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

slicker

1 American  
[slik-er] / ˈslɪk ər /

noun

  1. a long, loose oilskin raincoat.

  2. any raincoat.

  3. Informal.

    1. a swindler; a sly cheat.

    2. city slicker.

slicker 2 American  
[slik-er] / ˈslɪk ər /

noun

  1. a tool, usually of stone or glass, for scraping, smoothing, and working tanning agents into a skin or hide.

slicker British  
/ ˈslɪkə /

noun

  1. informal a sly or untrustworthy person (esp in the phrase city slicker )

  2. a shiny raincoat, esp an oilskin

  3. a small trowel used for smoothing the surfaces of a mould

"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

Other Word Forms

  • slickered adjective

Etymology

Origin of slicker1

First recorded in 1880–85; slick + -er 1

Origin of slicker2

First recorded in 1850–55; slick + -er 1

Explanation

A slicker is a waterproof garment you wear when it's pouring outside — in other words, a raincoat. Those dark clouds look ominous. Better grab your slicker before you go! Any kind of raincoat can be called a slicker, but it's an especially appropriate term for a waxy, smooth garment that repels drops of rain, like the yellow slickers fishermen often wear. If someone is described as a city slicker, it means that they're sophisticated, accustomed to life in the city, and that they have fancy taste — so don’t ask them to help you milk the cows on your farm.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

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

While one might argue that artificial intelligence allows for quicker, slicker user experiences, creating user experiences dependent on AI guarantees that any error or poor design choice becomes a single point of failure.

From Scientific American • Oct. 17, 2023

They got that from minute one with the passing far slicker, the movement far better and, at one stage, it looked like a mere formality and case of how many.

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2023

The next thing I knew, Chas was tearing off his garbage-bag rain slicker and getting into the backseat.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

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.