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.
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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.
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-
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
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smooth and glossy; slippery
noun
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a slippery area, esp a patch of oil floating on water
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a chisel or other tool used for smoothing or polishing a surface
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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
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slicksimple
-
slickssimple
-
have slickedperfect
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has slickedperfect
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am slickingprogressive
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are slickingprogressive
-
is slickingprogressive
-
have been slickingperfect progressive
-
has been slickingperfect progressive
Past
-
slickedsimple
-
had slickedperfect
-
was slickingprogressive
-
were slickingprogressive
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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
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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:
Two days later, satellite imagery shows the slick had doubled in size and was spreading north-west through the strait towards Qeshm.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Satellite imagery verified by AFP showed what appeared to be an oil slick spreading from a ship that has been stranded for over a month near al-Qibliyyah island, off Oman's southern coast.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Sonic trends — from the slick countrypolitan in the 1970s to the neo-traditionalist 1990s and on through the trap-indebted 2010s — have come and gone.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
What began as a trickle of oil in April expanded into a slick operation freeing massive amounts of oil and alleviating one of the worst shocks to energy markets in decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
They looked so inviting, but beneath the water, the ground was always sharp and slick.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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
Instead of fitting wet-weather tyres to Alonso's car as he pitted with the track half-wet, half-dry, they fitted slicks.
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
The floor was a gritty cement and gravel mix, sticky in places, spotted with what looked like oil slicks.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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
In one number, Swinton, who goes glossy-eyed to show the cracks in her high-fashion veneer, poses in a transparent rain slicker while bleating raw, yowling noises that blend with the despairing strings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
“The sooner, the better. I noticed a squirrel having an upside-down feast on feeder number eight. We need to put an end to that. A slicker surface might do the trick.-”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
“I’m not the richest candidate, I’m not the slickest candidate, but I am the guy that’s got you,” Becerra said, rallying supporters in Los Angeles on Saturday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
But Alisson Cassiano would surely prefer not to be remembered for scoring one of football's slickest own goals.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
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
“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
I started reaching for recipes that lived in that pocket: lemony chicken soup instead of creamy; brothy beans slicked with olive oil and garlic instead of something finished with cream.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 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
His hair was slicked back, the comb marks still visible.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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
The season also provides more warmth, despite being largely set in a chilly New York spring at night, rainwater slicking the streets and reflecting the blurred lights of the city.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 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
He was once described as looking like a mad scientist, though he began slicking his hair down after that.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2021
“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
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.
