Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use slick in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Slick means slippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances. Example: “This rain is making the roads slick.”

Examples of slick by meaning

adjectiveSlippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.

  • This rain is making the roads slick.
  • The top coating of lacquer gives this finish a slick look.
  • His large round head was shaved slick.

adjectiveAppearing expensive or sophisticated.

  • They read all kinds of slick magazines.

adjectiveSuperficially convincing but actually untrustworthy.

  • That new sales rep is slick. Be sure to read the fine print before you buy anything.

adjectiveClever, making an apparently hard task look easy.

  • Our new process for extracting needles from haystacks is extremely slick.
  • That was a slick move, locking your keys in the car.
  • I leave the train at Salisbury, where (in a very slick operation) another two-car set is added to the front of the train before it heads for London.2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 55

adjectiveExtraordinarily great or special.

  • That is one slick bicycle: it has all sorts of features!

nounA covering of liquid, particularly oil.

  • Careful in turn three — there's an oil slick on the road.
  • The oil slick has now spread to cover the entire bay, critically endangering the sea life.

nounA 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.

nounA camera-ready image to be used by a printer. The "slick" is photographed to produce a negative image which is then...

  • The project was delayed because the slick had not been delivered to the printer.

More sentences with slick

  • He slicked his hair back with mousse, but the cowlick still stuck up.From the entry mousse
  • The dewy grass was too slick for football.From the entry dewy
  • His hair was slicked back, plastered down with gel.From the entry slick back
  • They boomed off the oil slick.From the entry boom off
  • Morning commuters in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas discovered slick sidewalks and icy roadways Monday.2024 January 21, Elizabeth Wolfe, Robert Shackelford and Mary Gilbert, “Icy conditions make for hazardous travel across central US, but…. From the entry sidewalk
  • The slick of grease that normally accompanies deep dish is notably absent, even with the sausage pizzas.2018 April 10, Nick Kindelsperger, “Is Chicago's best deep dish hiding in a glorified food court?”, in Chicago Tribune, Chicago, I.L.…. From the entry deep dish
  • Rain slobbered on my legs, making them slick and cold, sending shivers across my skin.2016 January 5, Brenda Drake, Thief of Lies, Entangled: Teen, →ISBN. From the entry slobber
  • “Looks like slick cam today, Cap'n.” Charles stared straight up at her.2013, Anna Gill, The Island Woman: A Chesapeake Story, →ISBN, page 160. From the entry slick cam
  • Here and there, sun glanced off water, and slick surfaces shone blackly orange in the morning light.2011, T. J. Forrester, Miracles, Inc., page 37. From the entry blackly
  • Sturr, a slick nontraditionalist whose albums feature guest appearances by the likes of Willie Nelson .2009 June 5, Ben Sisario, “Polka Music Is Eliminated as Grammy Award Category”, in New York Times. From the entry nontraditionalist
  • The slick businessman, with a patronising air for those less experienced than he was?2008, Ann Purser, Warning at One, →ISBN. From the entry sod that for a game of soldiers
  • Instead, Jaggeresque lips, now drooling a slick strand of gray fluid, worked along Farrengalli’s thigh.2007, Scott Nicholson, chapter 50, in They Hunger, New York: Pinnacle Books, page 320. From the entry Jaggeresque
  • "It's slick cam out here this morning," my father said, using the waterman's phrase for totally calm.2007, Terry L. Noble, Starting at Sea Level, →ISBN, page 71. From the entry slick cam
  • In a critical climate that venerates slick, hyperproduced Top 40 pop, why is she immune to praise?2007 December 13, Sam Anderson, “Taster’s Choice”, in New York Magazine, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2017. From the entry hyperproduced
  • Another ragged, working-class suburb that had become bohemian and then been discovered and slicked up.2006, Kate Holden, In My Skin: A Memoir of Addiction, page 130. From the entry scunge
  • And I thought I was slick for posing as my Dad to get into Medscape, LOL.2006 May 9, Snell, “Re: Significant others”, in alt.support.depression.manic.moderated (Usenet). From the entry Adderalled
  • The ears are cauliflowered, the sparse fur between is slicked back, greasy in the soft light.2005, Kevin Dole 2, Tangerinephant, page 93. From the entry cauliflowered
  • As the geanticline rose upwards, nappes glided off like slicks from the back of an emerging whale.2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 119. From the entry geanticline
  • Too slick for what Phil liked to call Andy's "humble-hearted" style.2002, John Quirt, Jackboots in the Heartland, →ISBN, page 59. From the entry humble-hearted
  • The sweat underneath his arms had turned into an oily slick.1998, Tom Wolfe, chapter 15, in A Man in Full. From the entry abloom
  • His hair was thinning and slicked back, and he could have done with a good shave.1996 March, D. William Shunn, “Celestial Mechanics.”, in Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 90, number 3, page 109. From the entry can do with
  • It is also an attempt to mix "whoops!-there-go-my-trousers" farce with the slick kitsch pop-art comedy.1995 December 29, Chris Wright, “Four Rooms [TV review]”, in The Boston Phoenix, Boston, Mass.: Boston Phoenix, →OCLC, section 3, page 19. From the entry whoops, there go my trousers
  • You can't call her "Seal" because then I'll think of something slick and wet."1989, Ann Richards, Peter Knobler, Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 91. From the entry Cecile
  • Textured and casual finishes are more at home in most gardens than slick and precise types.1987, Ken Smith, Western Home Landscaping, page 43. From the entry slumpstone
  • The black glass has a slick mirrorlike smoothness which has unusual reflectibility.1978, Bob H. Batty, A Complete Guide to Pressed Glass, page 193. From the entry reflectibility
  • The message of the campaign brochure was slick and soothing: "Bentsen.1975 March 3, “Democrats: Five and Still Counting”, in Time, retrieved 26 Jun 2014. From the entry chase rainbows
  • She did not move with that slick assurance born of unbounced checks.1974, Lois Wyse, The Rosemary Touch. From the entry unbounced

Meaning of slick

  1. adjective Slippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.
  2. adjective Sleek; smooth.
  3. adjective Appearing expensive or sophisticated.

Full definition of slick

Questions about slick in a sentence

How do you use slick in a sentence?
Slick is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “This rain is making the roads slick.”
What is a short sentence with slick?
“They boomed off the oil slick.”
What does slick mean?
Slick means slippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slick (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use slick in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/slick. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.