Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

flick

/flɪk/ noun

In Latin: talitrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about flick at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
He removed the speck of dust with a flick of his finger.
A motion picture, movie, film; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.
My all-time favorite flick is "Gone with the Wind."
A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.

verb

To move or hit (something) with a short, quick motion.
flick one's hair
To pass by rapidly, so as not to be perceived clearly.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word