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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

You want crunch and savor, not oil slick.

From Salon • Aug. 5, 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 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

Gangly, bespectacled, hair black as an oil slick and always perfectly combed forward, Tucker was a busboy, waiter, and cashier here at Finnegan’s, not to mention the smartest person I’d ever met.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

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