slick

Slick is defined as to smooth or make glossy.

(verb)

An example of to slick is using hair grease to create a pompadour style.

The definition of slick is something glossy, smooth, slippery or oily.

(adjective)

An example of slick is an asphalt road just after the first rain of the season.

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See slick in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb

  1. to make sleek, glossy, or smooth
  2. Informal to make smart, neat, or tidy: usually with up

Origin: ME slikien < OE slician, to make smooth, akin to ON slikr, smooth < IE *(s)leig-, slimy, to smooth, glide < base *(s)lei-: see slide

adjective

  1. sleek; glossy; smooth
  2. slippery; oily, as a surface
  3. accomplished; adept; clever; ingenious
  4. Informal clever in deception or trickery; deceptively plausible; smooth: a slick alibi
  5. Informal having or showing skill in composition or technique but little depth or literary significance: a slick style of writing
  6. Slang excellent, fine, enjoyable, attractive, etc.

Origin: ME slike < the v.

noun

    1. a smooth area on the surface of water, as resulting from a layer of oil
    2. an oily layer on the surface of water
    3. a slippery, oily area on the surface of a road
  1. something used for smoothing and polishing, as any of various tools with broad, flat blades
  2. Informal a magazine printed on paper with a glossy finish

adverb

smoothly, cleverly, deftly, easily, etc.

Related Forms:

See slick in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective slick·er, slick·est
  1. Smooth, glossy, and slippery: sidewalks slick with ice. See Synonyms at sleek.
  2. Deftly executed; adroit: “as slick as a sonnet, but as dull as ditch water” (Tallulah Bankhead).
  3. Shrewd; wily.
  4. Superficially attractive or plausible but lacking depth or soundness: a slick writing style. See Synonyms at glib.
noun
  1. A smooth or slippery surface or area.
  2. a. A floating film of oil.
    b. A trail of floating material: a garbage slick.
  3. An implement used to make a surface slick, especially a chisel used for smoothing and polishing.
  4. Informal A magazine, usually of large popular readership, printed on high-quality glossy paper.
  5. A racing automobile tire with a smooth tread.
  6. Slang An unarmed military aircraft, especially a helicopter.
transitive verb slicked, slick·ing, slicks
  1. To make smooth, glossy, or oily.
  2. Informal To make neat, trim, or tidy: slicked themselves up for the camera.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English slike

Origin: , from Old English *slice; see lei- in Indo-European roots

Origin: . V., Middle English sliken

Origin: , from Late Old English -slīcian, -slȳcian (in nīgslȳcod, freshly smoothed)

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Related Forms:

  • slickˈly adverb
  • slickˈness noun

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