slick

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
slick/slɪk/

▶adjective

• 1 done or operating in an impressively smooth and efficient way.

  ■ glibly assured.

• 2 smooth, wet, and slippery or glossy: his face was slick with sweat.

▶noun

• 1 an oil slick.

• 2 an application or amount of a glossy or oily substance.

• 3 a racing-car or bicycle tyre without a tread, for use in dry weather conditions.

• 4 N. Amer. informal a glossy magazine.

• 5 N. Amer. informal a glibly assured person.

▶verb

• 1 make (hair) flat, smooth, and glossy with water, oil, or cream.

  ■ cover with a film of liquid.

• 2 (slick someone/thing up) N. Amer. make someone or something smart, tidy, or stylish.

– derivatives
slickly adverb,
slickness noun.

– origin ME: prob. from OE and rel. to ON slíkr ‘smooth’; cf. sleek.