flick
[verb]
Synonyms:
- strike, dab, flip, hit, tap, touch
- flick through: browse, flip through, glance at, skim, skip, thumb

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English Thesaurus: film, motion picture, blockbuster, flick, documentary, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. flick¹ /flɪk/ verb
[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: From the sound of a light blow]

1. [transitive usually + adverb/preposition] to make something move away by hitting or pushing it suddenly or quickly, especially with your thumb and finger:
Papa flicked the ash from his cigar.

2. [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move with a sudden quick movement, or to make something move in this way
flick from/up/down
The cow’s tail flicked from side to side.
flick something up/down etc
Jackie flicked her long hair back.

3. [transitive] to move a switch so that a machine or piece of electrical equipment starts or stops Synonym : flip:
I felt inside the doorway and flicked the light switch.
flick something on/off
Sandra flicked the TV on.

4. flick a glance/look at somebody/something British English to look very quickly at someone or something:
Leith flicked a glance at her watch.

5. [transitive] if you flick something such as a towel or rope, you move it so that the end moves quickly away from you:
The old man flicked his whip and the horses moved off.
flick through something phrasal verb
to look at a book, magazine, set of photographs etc quickly:
Will flicked through Carla’s photo album.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. flick² noun
[Sense 1-2, 5: Date: 1400-1500; Origin: ⇒ flick¹]
[Sense 3-4: Date: 1900-2000; Origin: ⇒ flicker¹; because of the appearance of early movies. ]

1. [countable] a short quick sudden movement or hit with a part of your body, whip etc:
With a flick of the wrist, Frye sent the ball into the opposite court.

2. the flick of a switch used to emphasize how easy it is to start a machine and use it:
I can shut off all the power in the building at the flick of a switch.

3. [countable usually singular] especially American English a film:
an action flick

4. the flicks British English old-fashioned the cinema

5. have a flick through something British English to look at a book, magazine, set of pictures etc very quickly:
I had a quick flick through your report.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

flick
noun
ADJ. quick
VERB + FLICK give (sth) The fish gave a quick flick of its tail.
PREP. with a ~ With a flick of his wrist he removed the ash from the end of his cigarette.
~ of
PHRASES at the flick of a switch Heat is available at the flick of a switch (= instantly, by simply switching on the electricity).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

flick
verb
ADV. casually | nervously | quickly | away, back
PREP. across His tongue flicked nervously across dry lips.
from He casually flicked away some dust from his jacket.
off She flicked the ash off her cigarette.
over His eyes flicked quickly over the screen.
PHRASES flick sth open She snatched up her briefcase and flicked it open.
PHRASAL VERBS flick through sth
ADV. absent-mindedly, casually, idly She flicked idly through a magazine.
quickly

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

film especially British English, movie especially American English a series of images that tell a story and are shown in a cinema or on television:
What’s your favourite movie?
It won the award for best foreign film.
a made-for-TV movie
motion picture formal (also picture) a film – used especially by people who make films or by critics:
a major Hollywood motion picture
Tell us about your latest picture.
blockbuster informal a very successful film:
Steven Spielberg’s latest Hollywood blockbuster
flick informal a film – a very informal use:
an action flick
documentary a film that gives detailed information and facts about a particular subject:
a documentary on the rain forest
feature film a film made to be shown in cinemas:
The book was later made into a full-length feature film starring Sean Penn.
comedy a film intended to make people laugh:
Monroe appeared in a number of comedies.
romantic comedy (also romcom British English informal) a film about two people who are in love, which is intended to make the people who watch it feel happy:
‘Notting Hill’ is a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
thriller an exciting film, especially about murder or serious crimes:
‘The Birds’ is a classic Hitchcock thriller.
film noir a film that shows strong feelings of fear or evil and whose characters are often immoral, or these films in general:
‘The Big Sleep’ is a classic Hollywood film noir.
action film/movie a film that has lots of fighting, explosions etc:
Stallone’s latest action movie
horror film/movie a frightening film about ghosts, murders etc:
She loves watching old horror movies.
western a film with cowboys in it:
John Wayne is famous for making westerns.
science fiction film/movie (also sci-fi film/movie informal) a film about imaginary events in the future or in outer space:
‘2001’ is probably the most famous sci-fi movie ever made.
gangster film/movie a film about violent criminals
silent film/movie an old film without any sound:
The 1920s were the golden age of silent movies.
an independent film/movie a film made by a small film company
animated film/movie/cartoon a film with characters that are drawn or made using a computer:
One of his first animated films was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
anime /ˈænɪmeɪ, -mə/ a type of Japanese animated film, which often has a science fiction story:
Miyazaki’s anime film ‘Spirited Away’ became an international success.
an anime character
CGI the use of computers to create characters and images in a film:
The film uses CGI.
Disney’s latest CGI movie
short a short film, usually shown before a longer movie in the cinema:
an animated short
trailer a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in order to advertise it in a cinema, on television etc:
We had to sit through all the trailers.
actor a man or woman who acts in a film:
a previously unknown actor
Brando was one of Hollywood’s greatest actors.
actress a woman who acts in a film. Women who appear in films or plays usually prefer to be called actors:
She was the actress who played Scarlet O'Hara in ‘Gone with the Wind’.
star a famous actor or actress:
He looked liked a movie star.
a hotel which was used by the stars
director the person who tells the actors and actresses in a film what to do:
The director of the film is Quentin Tarantino.
producer the person who makes the arrangements for a film to be made and controls the budget
film/movie crew the people operating the camera, lights etc who help the director make a film

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

short not long:
I lived in Tokyo for a short time.
Smokers have a shorter life expectancy than non-smokers.
brief especially written lasting only for a short time. Brief is more formal than short, and is used especially in written English:
The President will make a brief visit to Seattle today.
He coached Hingis for a brief period in the 1990s.
quick [only before noun] taking a short time to do something:
I had a quick look at the map.
He had a quick shower and then went out.
short-lived lasting only for a short time – used especially when someone wishes that a good situation had been able to last for longer:
short-lived success
The ceasefire was short-lived.
a short-lived romance
short-lived optimism about the economy
fleeting lasting only for an extremely short time – used especially when someone wishes that something had been able to last for longer:
a fleeting visit
a fleeting smile
She caught a fleeting glimpse of him.
a fleeting moment of happiness
a fleeting thought
momentary lasting for a very short time – used especially about feelings or pauses:
There was a momentary pause in the conversation.
The momentary panic ended when he found his two-year-old son waiting happily outside the store.
passing [only before noun] lasting only for a short time – used especially when people are only interested in something or mention something for a short time:
passing fashions
He made only a passing reference to war.
It’s just a passing phase (=it will end soon).
ephemeral formal lasting only for a short time, and ending quickly like everything else in this world:
Beauty is ephemeral.
the ephemeral nature of our existence
His wealth proved to be ephemeral.
not very tall quite short. This phrase sounds more gentle than saying that someone is short:
She wasn’t very tall – maybe about 1.60 m.
small short and with a small body:
My mother was a small woman.
The girl was quite small for her age (=smaller than other girls of the same age).
petite used about a woman who is attractively short and thin:
She was a petite woman with blonde hair.
stocky used about a boy or man who is short, heavy, and strong:
Harry was stocky and middle-aged.
dumpy short and fat:
a dumpy girl with red hair
diminutive formal literary very short or small – used especially in descriptions in novels:
a diminutive figure dressed in black
stubby stubby fingers or toes are short and thick:
the baby’s stubby little fingers
film especially British English, movie especially American English a series of images that tell a story and are shown in a cinema or on television:
What’s your favourite movie?
It won the award for best foreign film.
a made-for-TV movie
motion picture formal (also picture) a film – used especially by people who make films or by critics:
a major Hollywood motion picture
Tell us about your latest picture.
blockbuster informal a very successful film:
Steven Spielberg’s latest Hollywood blockbuster
flick informal a film – a very informal use:
an action flick
documentary a film that gives detailed information and facts about a particular subject:
a documentary on the rain forest
feature film a film made to be shown in cinemas:
The book was later made into a full-length feature film starring Sean Penn.
comedy a film intended to make people laugh:
Monroe appeared in a number of comedies.
romantic comedy (also romcom British English informal) a film about two people who are in love, which is intended to make the people who watch it feel happy:
‘Notting Hill’ is a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
thriller an exciting film, especially about murder or serious crimes:
‘The Birds’ is a classic Hitchcock thriller.
film noir a film that shows strong feelings of fear or evil and whose characters are often immoral, or these films in general:
‘The Big Sleep’ is a classic Hollywood film noir.
action film/movie a film that has lots of fighting, explosions etc:
Stallone’s latest action movie
horror film/movie a frightening film about ghosts, murders etc:
She loves watching old horror movies.
western a film with cowboys in it:
John Wayne is famous for making westerns.
science fiction film/movie (also sci-fi film/movie informal) a film about imaginary events in the future or in outer space:
‘2001’ is probably the most famous sci-fi movie ever made.
gangster film/movie a film about violent criminals
silent film/movie an old film without any sound:
The 1920s were the golden age of silent movies.
an independent film/movie a film made by a small film company
animated film/movie/cartoon a film with characters that are drawn or made using a computer:
One of his first animated films was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
anime /ˈænɪmeɪ, -mə/ a type of Japanese animated film, which often has a science fiction story:
Miyazaki’s anime film ‘Spirited Away’ became an international success.
an anime character
CGI the use of computers to create characters and images in a film:
The film uses CGI.
Disney’s latest CGI movie
trailer a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in order to advertise it in a cinema, on television etc:
We had to sit through all the trailers.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲