sleek
/sliːk/adjective, adverb, verb, noun
sleek is spelled S-L-E-E-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “sleek vs slick” about 110 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, sleek means “Having an even, smooth surface; smooth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sleek?
| Letters | 5: S-L-E-E-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sleek?
Sleek appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sleek?
- /sliːk/
Sleek has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sleek.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sleek
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: slick.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with sleek?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as sleek.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: skeel.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sleek
- sleeker comparative
- sleekest superlative
- sleeks present, singular, he/she/it
- sleeking participle, present
- sleeked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sleek mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having an even, smooth surface; smooth
sleek hair
- 2
Glossy.
- 3
Not rough or harsh.
- 4
Slim and streamlined; not plump, thick, or stocky.
- 5
Healthy, well-fed and well-groomed; in good condition.
- 6
datedDated form of slick (“convincing but untrustworthy”).
verb
- 1
To make smooth or glossy; to polish.
- 2
datedTo calm or soothe.
- 3
datedTo glide.
noun
- 1
That which makes smooth; varnish.
adverb
- 1
colloquialdatedWith ease and dexterity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sleek in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brillant, luisant, lisse |
| German | glatt, seidig , geschmeidig |
| Portuguese | suave , liso , alisar |
| Spanish | liso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sleek come from?
A late variant of slick; cognate to German schleichen (Old High German slihhan) and Dutch slijk (“mud, slime”). Compare slink.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).