English Explanatory Dictionary

flick

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
  2. A motion picture, movie, film; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.
  3. A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.
  4. A powerful underarm volley shot.
  5. The act of pressing a place on a touch screen device.
  6. A flitch.
  7. A unit of time, equal to 1/705,600,000 of a second
  8. A chap or fellow; sometimes as a friendly term of address.
  9. A photo.
verb
  1. To move or hit (something) with a short, quick motion.
  2. To pass by rapidly, so as not to be perceived clearly.
name
  1. A diminutive of the female given name Felicity.
  2. A diminutive of the female given name Felicia.

Pronunciation

/flɪk/ en-us-flick.ogg

Word forms

flick flicks flicking flicked

Etymology

From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker. The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

Synonyms

fillip the picture flit

Related words

flicker

Derived words

Ardiles flick chick flick flick book flicky frat flick frock flick horror flick kiddie flick lit flick Netflix penalty flick skin flick slasher flick flickable flick in flick knife flick off flick-on flick one's bean flick over flick-screen flick the bean flick through tick and flick unflicked
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