Flick Meaning
/flɪk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
nounA motion picture, movie, film; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.
Sentence Examples
What's your favorite chick flick?
Notice how the hero in an action flick never seems to run out of ammo?
Yanni tried to convince Skura to do a porn flick.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He decided to ____ the annoying fly off his shoulder with a quick, gentle movement.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
With a quick ____ of his wrist, he tossed the small coin into the wishing well.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2011 January 5, Saj Chowdhury, “Newcastle 0 - 0 West Ham”, in BBC:
"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."
— 2011 June 28, David Ornstein, “Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters”, in BBC Sport:
"'All that I have, dear old flick, is yours for the asking. What can I do?'"
— 1920, H. C. McNeile, Bulldog Drummond:
"I was taking some flicks of the [p]arade […] and [someone] asked […] if I would like to take a picture of him[.]"
— 1968 April 29, William Gilson, “Loyalty Day”, in Berkley Barb:
"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."
— 2012 December 26, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2013:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
He decided to ____ the annoying fly off his shoulder with a quick, gentle movement.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
With a quick ____ of his wrist, he tossed the small coin into the wishing well.