slick

verb \ ˈslik \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of slick

transitive verb

:to make sleek or smooth

intransitive verb

:spruce —usually used with up

See slick defined for English-language learners

See slick defined for kids

Examples of slick in a Sentence

The rain slicked the roads.
slicking the bottom of their skis with wax

Recent Examples of slick from the Web

Swift also debuted the black and white cover art, featuring the star sporting her signature dark lip, as well as slicked-back hair and a sweatshirt, with mock newspaper headlines and columns superimposed over part of her face.

— melody chiu, PEOPLE.com, "Taylor Swift Releases New Single ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ – All the Details," 25 Aug. 2017
The final look considered of slicked-back, fresh-out-of-the-shower hair and a halo of burgundy eye makeup — which Lucy revealed matched the bottom half of her dress perfectly.

— sarah wu, Teen Vogue, "Teen Choice Awards 2017: Lucy Hale Wears Neon Red Smoky Eye Makeup," 13 Aug. 2017
Deepak was wearing a tight-fitting black T-shirt, with slicked-back hair.

— cyrus farivar, Ars Technica, "Podcaster: “Can you admit to me that you’re a scammer please?”," 3 Aug. 2017
But the following week, the fried tilapia was just right, a crispy whole fish arching under green mango salad, cashews and herbs, its crackling skin slicked in a sweet sauce.

— michael russell | the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Five ways PaaDee's new Issan menu brings the fire," 24 July 2017
One part slicked statement, one part blasé beauty trick, Hadid’s fresh-from-the-shower updo promotes coolness of all kinds.

— calin van paris, Vogue, "Gigi Hadid Has the Ultimate Heat Wave Hair Trick," 13 July 2017
Model of the minute Hadid, 20, prowled out animalistically in a loose and floaty, blue floral jumpsuit with peek-a-boo sheer sections and slicked-back hair.

— thomas adamson, The Seattle Times, "Fendi stuns with Jenner and Hadid fur show to cap couture," 5 July 2017
Created by hairstylist Eugene Souleiman, the effect was wet look via Midas (our words again), meaning many layers of paint slicked on and topped with glitter—

— rachel nussbaum, Glamour, "Bella Hadid Looked Downright Mesmerizing With Liquid Gold Hair at Margiela's Couture Show," 5 July 2017
Everything about smokey chicken slicked with barbecue sauce says summer, and that's how chef Hector Miranda makes his pollo asado drumsticks at Hotel Madrid's Vermutería 600.

— carol deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The tastes of summer: the cocktail and dish to try in Milwaukee," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'slick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of slick

Middle English sliken, from Old English *slician; akin to Old High German slīhhan to glide

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

slick Synonyms

Synonyms

grease, oil, lubricate, wax

Related Words

bathe, douse (also dowse), drench, soak, souse, wash, water, wet

Near Antonyms

coarsen, rough, roughen; dehydrate, dry, parch, sear

slick

adjective

Definition of slick

1 a :having a smooth surface :slippery

slick wet leaves

b :having surface plausibility or appeal :glossy

slick advertising

c :based on stereotype :trite

slick stories soon forgotten

2 archaic :sleek 1

3 a :characterized by subtlety or nimble wit :clever; especially :wily

a slick swindler

b :deft, skillful

a slick ballplayer

4 :extremely good :first-rate

—

slick

adverb

—

slickly

adverb

—

slickness

noun

See slick defined for English-language learners

Examples of slick in a Sentence

Be careful as you drive home—the roads are slick.
big corporations and their slick lawyers
The new kid had some slick moves on the basketball court.
The students did a slick job of promoting the concert.
The video game has slick graphics.

Recent Examples of slick from the Web

Men in designer suits and slick hair knocked on my door one day, pretending to be architects hired to make minor improvements.

— jeremiah moss, Longreads, "Mourning the Low-Rent, Weirdo-Filled East Village of Old," 24 July 2017
Or because Harry Styles dying while all slick and wet with water and grease is a part of some elaborately morbid fantasy.

— richard lawson, HWD, "So Does Harry Styles Die in Dunkirk or What?," 21 July 2017
The company has rolled out slick new adverts and uses designer bottles instead of the old ones with ill-fitting labels.

— The Economist, "Reform of China’s ailing state-owned firms is emboldening them," 20 July 2017
A slick sartorial move, yes, but not one that should be demanded of her.

— christine flammia, Esquire, "Congress's Dress Code Is Sexist and Just Plain F*cked Up," 6 July 2017
The slick promotional video was only the beginning.

— bryan burrough, The Hive, "Fyre Festival: Anatomy of a Millennial Marketing Fiasco Waiting to Happen," 4 July 2017
The slick design will trick them into playing through a real platforming-genre history lesson, and what parent doesn't like to sneak some education into their kids' entertainment?

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy: As good as the uneven series will ever get," 2 July 2017
New balls are too shiny and slick to grip, so each one gets a mud bath and massage before games.

— kirk kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, "The baseball has been through just about everything through the years," 2 July 2017
Back to when a slick-haired Riley coached the Lakers, a peevish-faced Ainge played for Boston and championships were at stake.

— dave hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde: It's Ainge vs. Riley — can Danny swing the deals you know Pat would? | Commentary," 30 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of slick

Middle English slyke; akin to Old English *slician

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

slick Synonyms

Synonyms

greased, greasy, lubricated, oiled, slicked, slippery, slippy, slithery

Antonyms

artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning

Related Words

brushed, buffed, burnished, glossed, ground, polished, rubbed, shined; coated, glazed, waxed; soapy, waxy; rasped, sandblasted, sanded, sandpapered, scoured, scraped, scrubbed

Near Antonyms

coarsened, rough, roughened, scuffed, uneven

Synonym Discussion of slick

sleek, slick, glossy mean having a smooth bright surface or appearance. sleek suggests a smoothness or brightness resulting from attentive grooming or physical conditioning.

- a sleek racehorse

slick suggests extreme smoothness that results in a slippery surface.

- slipped and fell on the slick floor

glossy suggests a highly reflective surface.

- photographs having a glossy finish

sly, cunning, crafty, wily, tricky, foxy, artful, slick mean attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means. sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

- a sly corporate raider

cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

- the cunning fox avoided the trap

crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

- a crafty lefthander

wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

- the wily fugitive escaped the posse

tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

- a tricky political operative

foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

- a foxy publicity man planting stories

artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

- elicited the information by artful questioning

slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

- slick operators selling time-sharing

slick

noun

Definition of slick

1 a :something that is smooth or slippery; especially :a smooth patch of water covered with a film of oil

b :a film of oil

2 :an implement for producing a smooth or slick surface

3 :a shrewd untrustworthy person

4 :a popular magazine printed on coated stock and intended to appeal to sophisticated readers

5 :an automobile tire made without a tread for maximum traction (as in drag racing)

6 slang :a military helicopter without armaments that is used to transport troops or light cargo

See slick defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of slick from the Web

Hernandez appeared to have taken great pains to ensure his own death, jamming cardboard into the tracks of his cell's sliding door and spreading a slick of shampoo on the concrete floor so he couldn't be rescued quickly.

— alex french, Esquire, "The Man Who Knows Aaron Hernandez's Secrets," 15 Aug. 2017
KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait battled Sunday to control an oil spill off its southern coast that stained its beaches, threatened to damage power plants and water stations and left long black slicks in the Persian Gulf.

— hussain al-qatari, The Seattle Times, "Kuwait says oil spill strikes its waters in Persian Gulf," 13 Aug. 2017
For years now, at least since Twilight invaded in 2008, the San Diego Comic-Con fandom has been exploited and overrun by the slick, glossy marketing machines of studios like Marvel, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "Have Fans Finally Won the War for Comic-Con?," 20 July 2017
For years now, at least since Twilight invaded in 2008, the San Diego Comic-Con fandom has been exploited and overrun by the slick, glossy marketing machines of studios like Marvel, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Have Fans Finally Won the War for Comic-Con?," 20 July 2017
But the beauty ended with the winches, spades and slicers of a factory ship, in a slick of oil and blood.

— The Economist, "The last of the fire-breathersObituary: Heathcote Williams died on July 1st," 15 July 2017
Most of the kids slept on the floor, worn slick by the passage of many feet.

— by charles hammer, kansascity, "Radical tax-cutters for the rich are not really true Republicans," 28 June 2017
With rookie shortstop JT Riddle settling into an everyday role for the Marlins, the slick-fielding Hechavarria -- and the approximate $2.35 million still owed to him this season -- became expendable.

— clark spencer, miamiherald, "Marlins trade Hechavarria to Rays for prospects," 26 June 2017
DIOR HOMME FRONT ROW Looking slick in a black Dior Homme suit without a tie, actor Jamie Bell arrived with his actress fiancee Kate Mara at the Grand Palais venue to a flurry of camera flashes.

— thomas adamson, The Seattle Times, "Dior designer celebrates decade at helm at Paris menswear," 24 June 2017

First Known Use of slick

1849

slick

adverb

Definition of slick

informal, dated

:in a smooth or clever manner

"I must say they did it slick enough. They were old hands at the business."
—Jack London

First Known Use of slick

1825

SLICK Defined for English Language Learners

slick

verb

Definition of slick for English Language Learners

: to make (something) smooth and slippery

slick

adjective

Definition of slick for English Language Learners

: very smooth and slippery
: clever in usually a dishonest or deceptive way
: skillful and clever

slick

noun

Definition of slick for English Language Learners

: a thin layer of liquid that makes a surface very slippery
: a smooth tire that is used in car racing

SLICK Defined for Kids

slick

verb \ ˈslik \

Definition of slick for Students

slicked; slicking

:to make sleek or smooth He slicked his hair.

slick

adjective

Definition of slick for Students

1 :having a smooth surface :slippery

slick pavement

2 :tricky 2

a slick salesman

3 :having skill and cleverness

She made some slick moves during the game.

Learn More about slick

See words that rhyme with slick Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for slick Spanish Central: Translation of slick Nglish: Translation of slick for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of slick for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about slick

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slick

Definition of slick

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Examples of slick in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of slick

slick Synonyms

Synonyms

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Near Antonyms

slick

Definition of slick

slick

slickly

slickness

Examples of slick in a Sentence

Recent Examples of slick from the Web

Origin and Etymology of slick

slick Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of slick

slick

Definition of slick

Recent Examples of slick from the Web

First Known Use of slick

slick

Definition of slick

First Known Use of slick

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SLICK Defined for English Language Learners

slick

Definition of slick for English Language Learners

slick

Definition of slick for English Language Learners

slick

Definition of slick for English Language Learners

SLICK Defined for Kids

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