flick

From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker.

• IPA^(key): /flɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -ɪk

  Homophone: flic

flick (plural flicks)

1. A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.

   He removed the speck of dust with a flick of his finger.

   She gave a disdainful flick of her hair and marched out of the room.

   • 2011 January 5, Saj Chowdhury, “Newcastle 0 - 0 West Ham”, in BBC‎:

     On this occasion it was Nolan's deft flick that fooled West Ham's sleepy defenders Danny Gabbidon and Tomkins. The ball found its way to Best, who smashed in with confidence from the edge of the area.

2. (informal) A motion picture, movie, film; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.

   My all-time favorite flick is "Gone with the Wind."

   Want to go to the flicks tonight?

3. (fencing) A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.
4. (tennis) A powerful underarm volley shot.
   • 2011 June 28, David Ornstein, “Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters”, in BBC Sport‎:

     The fourth seed was dominating her 20-year-old opponent with a series of stinging groundstrokes and athletic drive-volleys, striking again in game five when Paszek flicked a forehand pick-up into the tramlines.

5. The act of pressing a place on a touch screen device.
6. A flitch.

   a flick of bacon

7. A unit of time, equal to 1/705,600,000 of a second
8. (dated, slang) A chap or fellow; sometimes as a friendly term of address.
   • 1920, H. C. McNeile, Bulldog Drummond:

     'All that I have, dear old flick, is yours for the asking. What can I do?'

9. (dated) A photo.
   • 1968 April 29, William Gilson, “Loyalty Day”, in Berkley Barb‎:

     I was taking some flicks of the [p]arade […] and [someone] asked […] if I would like to take a picture of him[.]

• (short, quick movement) fillip (of the finger)
• (cinema) the pictures

• → Afrikaans: fliek

flick (third-person singular simple present flicks, present participle flicking, simple past and past participle flicked)

1. To move or hit (something) with a short, quick motion.

   flick one's hair

   to flick the dirt from boots

   • 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Time‎:

     Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic.

   • 1860, William Makepeace Thackeray, The English Humourists of the Eighteenth Century and Charity and Humour:

     the Queen, flicking the snuff off her sleeve […]

2. To pass by rapidly, so as not to be perceived clearly.
   • 1997, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:

     They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

• flicker

• IPA^(key): /flɪk/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪk

flick

1. singular imperative of flicken