What does "slick" mean?
A covering of liquid, particularly oil.
Slick
/slɪk/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A covering of liquid, particularly oil.
- Grammar: slick is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: glossy, acute, adept, adipose.
- Useful contrasts: abrasive tone, furlike, fuzzier.
- Usage evidence: Don't swallow that slick propaganda.
How to use "slick"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "slick" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "slick" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "slick" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "slick" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "slick" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "glossy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "slick", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A covering of liquid, particularly oil.
"Careful in turn three — there's an oil slick on the road."
- 2 Alternative form of schlich. alt-of, alternative
- 3 a trowel used to make a surface slick wordnet
- 4 A rapidly-expanding ring of dark water, resembling an oil slick, around the site of a large underwater explosion at shallow depth, marking the progress through the water of the shock wave generated by the explosion. US, broadly, dated
- 5 a film of oil or garbage floating on top of water wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 Someone who is clever and untrustworthy.
- 7 a slippery smoothness wordnet
- 8 A tool used to make something smooth or even.
- 9 a magazine printed on good quality paper wordnet
- 10 A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.
"You'll go much faster if you put on slicks."
- 11 A helicopter. US, slang
- 12 A camera-ready image to be used by a printer. The "slick" is photographed to produce a negative image which is then used to burn a positive offset plate or other printing device.
"The project was delayed because the slick had not been delivered to the printer."
- 13 A glossy magazine. slang
"Many of the stories in SSB [Sex Behind Bars] first appeared in gay slicks, Mandate, Honcho, First Hand, et al."
- 14 A wide paring chisel used in joinery.
- 15 In omegaverse fiction, the copious, lubricating bodily fluid produced by an omega in heat. slang
"I spent two fucking days locked up in that hotel room, miserable and hating myself and drenched in my own slick!"
- 16 A silver coin that has been worn to the point its surface feels smooth to the touch. slang
"a slick doesn’t really give you anything except the satisfaction of owning it, while the hole gives you satisfaction if actually being able to see something"
Verb
- 1 To make slick.
"The surface had been slicked."
- 2 give a smooth and glossy appearance wordnet
- 3 make slick or smooth wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Slippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.
"This rain is making the roads slick."
- 2 Sleek; smooth.
"Both slick and dainty."
- 3 Appearing expensive or sophisticated.
"They read all kinds of slick magazines."
- 4 Superficially convincing but actually untrustworthy.
"That new sales rep is slick. Be sure to read the fine print before you buy anything."
- 5 Clever, making an apparently hard task look easy. often, sarcastic
"Our new process for extracting needles from haystacks is extremely slick."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Extraordinarily great or special. US
"That is one slick bicycle: it has all sorts of features!"
Adjective
- 1 marked by skill in deception wordnet
- 2 having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light; being of a smooth, soft and lustrous quality, resembling silk wordnet
- 3 having only superficial plausibility wordnet
- 4 superficially impressive, but lacking depth and attention to the true complexities of a subject wordnet
- 5 made slick by e.g. ice or grease wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Alternative form of sleek (“with ease and dexterity”). alt-of, alternative, colloquial, not-comparable
"We're just following a couple of crooks who've got slick away in that two-funnelled boat yonder, and we mean to keep in touch with them till they land."
Proper Noun
- 1 A term of address, generally applied to males, possibly including strangers, implying that the person addressed is slick in the sense of "sophisticated", but often used sarcastically.
"That was a great move locking your keys in the car, Slick."
Example
"Don't swallow that slick propaganda."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "slick"?
Common synonyms include: glossy, acute, adept, adipose, adroit, advertising pamphlet.
How do you use "slick" in a sentence?
Don't swallow that slick propaganda.
How do you pronounce "slick"?
Pronounced /slɪk/.
Etymology
From Middle English slicke, slike, slyke, from Old English slīc (“sleek, smooth; crafty, cunning, slick”), from Proto-Germanic *slīkaz (“sleek, smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-, *sleyǵ- (“to glide, smooth, spread”). Akin to Dutch sluik, dialectal Dutch sleek (“even, smooth”), Old Norse slíkr (“sleek, smooth”), Old English slician (“to make sleek, smooth, or glossy”).