slick down

Meanings

verbslick down (third-person singular simple present slicks down, present participle slicking down, simple past and past participle slicked down)

present singular third person slicks down · participle present slicking down · participle past slicked down · past slicked down

To make hair flat by putting oil, water, etc. on it.
His unruly hair was slicked down with water, and as Jessamy introduced him to Miss Brindle his face assumed a cherubic innocence which would immediately have aroused the suspicions of anyone who knew him.
1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 96

verbgive a smooth and glossy appearance

Similar

slicksleek down

Broader

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

slick down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slick%20down

MLA

“slick down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slick%20down. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slick down,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slick%20down.