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
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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
-
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:
“The hazardous conditions will impact the Friday evening commute. Strong winds could cause extensive damage to trees and power lines. Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026
Antonelli's lead was more than eight seconds by lap 13 but the track was drying and three laps later Norris came in for dry-weather slick tyres.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
Mr. Leribault, who still seems like an elegant French curator rather than a slick, networking modern museum director, is wistful about the controversial solution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
In practice, the crumbs more or less fused into a single crust over the slick cabbage beneath.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
A massive wall of slick, oily scales bursts out of the water.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
When Verstappen switched to slicks, Hamilton's tyres were much older.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
He and others who chose slicks immediately dropped to the back of the field, and lost nearly a minute to the leaders in the early laps.
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
Oil has spilled into the Black Sea, creating slicks that cover several square miles of water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
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
The hybrid is quicker, slicker, more able and agile in everyday driving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
There’s something raggedly cool about AM versus the slicker products on the FM side.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 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
When she comes she rushes from the awning in a long slicker, her head covered with the hood.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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
“Polite Society” doesn’t need the slickest fight choreography or the most innovative plot devices or the zingiest lines to make its combo platter work, either.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
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
White men in the crispest, slickest suits—black and navy and tweed, some with loosened ties and coats unbuttoned or cast aside over chairs.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Eventually, Giuliani appears in the flesh, his blond hair slicked back like his father’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Choose dishes that improve with a little time and chill — herby potato salad slicked with olive oil and dill, a lemon-bright bean salad, a vegetable-packed pasta salad studded with crunch.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
Undo the tight, slicked back bun and bring in halo dyed hair, dark eyeliner and the piercing she did herself on the inside of her upper lip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 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
An hour after class started on that Friday, Esteban came in, his head down, his hair slicked wet against his forehead, his Yankees cap dripping with rain.
From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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
In winter, though, with black ice slicking the parking lot, he has no choice but to run the furnace.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2023
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
She plunged into the quarry and resurfaced, spitting and slicking her hair back, all that work down the drain as makeup and hair gel dissolved into the stagnant water.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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