clickn.1int.
/klɪk/, U.S. /klɪk/ A. n.1† 2. A defect in a horse's gait causing the toe of the hind hoof to strike the forefoot (typically with a clicking sound) while trotting, cantering, etc. Also in figurative contexts. Obsolete. rare.† 4. colloquial. A sudden, sharp blow or punch causing or suggesting a clicking sound. Cf. clip n.2 4. Obsolete (English regional in later use).† 6. = click beetle n. at Compounds 3a. Obsolete.
1.
a. A short sharp sound, as produced by two hard objects being lightly struck against each other, or by operating a switch.Also (in early use) with reference to the sound made by the tongue of a chattering person (cf. click-clack n. 2 and clack n. II.). For other clicking sounds made vocally see sense A. 5.a click of the fingers: see finger n. Phrases 4l. finger-click: see finger n. Compounds 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sharp or hard sound > [noun] > click
click1611
clicking1660
click-clack1756
sneck1851
snicking1893
snick1894
heel clicking1915
plock1936
snick-snack1970
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Niquet, a knick, klick, snap with the teeth or fingers.
1673 Gentlewomans Compan. 35 The continual click of her tongue never ceast till the Sun was set.
1788 J. Wolcot Brother Peter to Brother Tom 36 Whose fob..Was quite a stranger to a watch's click.
1790 Coll. Voy. round World I. x. 241 All the locks [sc. firelocks] made but one click.
1841 T. Hood Tale of Trumpet i, in New Monthly Mag. May 123 The click of the lifted latch.
1889 J. A. Froude Two Chiefs Dunboy xxvii. 414 A significant click caught the ear of both the speakers... Sylvester had cocked a pistol.
1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four iii. v. 287 Through the darkness that enveloped him he heard another metallic click.
1972 ‘H. Carmichael’ Naked to Grave i. 14 He heard the click of a light switch in the bedroom.
2013 Tribune Star (Terre Haute, Indiana) 13 Jan. a3/1 The sharp click of pool balls and cues colliding across green-topped tables dominated Plaza Billiards on Saturday.
b. Reduplicated or in collocation with other similar sounds. See also click-clack n. 1.
ΚΠ
1796 S. Gunning Delves (ed. 2) II. vii. 67 The eternal click, click, click, of a tongue that never stood still.
1837 J. Pardoe City of Sultan I. xiii. 232 You hear the light click, click, click, of the fast-falling beads.
1875 M. E. Braddon Strange World III. i. 4 To hear the click, click, click of the needle.
1920 Chambers's Jrnl. 3 Jan. 67/1 The steady click-clock of his hoofs.
1951 S. Plath Jrnl. July (2000) 79 The spasmodic click-click..of the ping pong ball sounded.
2009 W. J. Mann How to be Movie Star ii. 53 There she was.., listening to the click-click-click of their knitting needles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [noun] > striking one leg against other
interfere?1523
overreaching?1523
interfering1562
overreach1607
speedy cut1692
click1694
clicking1825
forging1843
1694 London Gaz. No. 2946/4 He has a Click in his walk when unwarm with one of his hinder Legs.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Dec. 4/1 When Ministers are riding the high horse of strict legality, such a discovery..is a serious click in their gallop.
3. Mechanics. A piece of mechanism which makes a short sharp sound when in operation; esp. (a) a catch or detent which engages with the notches of a ratchet wheel, preventing it from turning backwards; (b) a catch for a lock, bolt, etc.; a latch (cf. clicket n. 1) (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > lock > latch-lock > latch
latch1331
clicket1342
snecket1611
click1714
snick1775
snib1825
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > parts of wheels > tooth > catch
click1714
click iron1831
ratchet1846
1714 W. Derham Artific. Clock-maker (ed. 3) i. 2 In Spring-Clocks it is a Ratchet-wheel with its Click (that stops it).
1759 K. Fitz-Gerald in Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 728 The click fixed on the frame stops the larger rochet.
1819 A. Rees Cycl. XXI. at Lock The third part of the lock is the tumbler, which is a catch or click holding the bolt from being withdrawn.
1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Arts & Manuf. 234 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 1) VI We are aware that a rack and click or dog has long been used for trusses.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 749/1 There are two ways in which spring-locks with tumblers are made as safe... One is to make a click or catch fall into the bolt when it is drawn back.
c1943 Everyday Things & their Story 79/1 (in figure) A watch movement..minute wheel and click.
1977 E. Smith Clocks vi. 150 The rack is kept from falling back as it is gathered up by a pivoted lever, an unsprung click, which catches in the rack's teeth.
2010 C. McKay Big Ben xvii. 228/1 The engaged winding pinion is on a swinging arm; this arm has a click that engages with flat ratchet teeth set on the rear face of the great wheel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > a sharp or smart blow
dab1300
rapc1330
thresta1400
bruntc1400
knap14..
yedderc1440
gird1487
yert1509
fillip1543
yark1555
flewet1570
stingera1577
flirt1577
wherret1577
riprapc1580
spang1595
nick1651
lick1680
flip1692
yowf1711
clink1722
wherrya1726
click1773
whither1791
swata1800
yank1818
snock1825
clip1830
snop1849
clinkera1863
siserary1893
blip1894
1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote I. iv. ii. 206 He gave him a click in the mazard.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Click, a blow, (cant) a click in the muns, a blow or knock in the face.
1846 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I Click,..(3) A blow. East.
1880 M. A. Courtney W. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall 12/1 I'll gi' 'ee a click under the ear.
5.
a. Phonetics. Any of a class of speech sounds, generally common only in languages of southern Africa (in particular the Khoisan language family), articulated by creating two closures within the mouth, one at the soft palate and one made further forward with the tongue or lips, then enlarging the cavity made by these closures (by lowering the tongue or protruding the lips) and releasing the forward closure to produce a sound. Cf. cluck n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by manner > [noun] > ingressive > click
cluck1790
click1803
suction stop1887
lip-click1933
1803 Missionary Mag. 21 Feb. 89 One of them was an old man, called Acuwkain, to pronounce whole name the click of the tongue is required.
1827 H. P. Hallbeck Jrnl. in Periodical Accts. Missions Church United Brethren 10 (?1828) 299 The Caffres seem to have adopted much of the click of the Hottentots, in speaking.
1883 R. N. Cust Sketch Mod. Langs. Afr. II. xii. 300 It is generally..supposed that the Clicks found in the Zulu Language have been adopted from their neighbours the Hottentots.
1966 D. Varaday Gara-Yaka's Domain ix. 105 Calling the girl's name..—pronouncing it like ‘Tzuky’ with an opening click of the tongue.
1985 G. T. Nurse et al. Peoples of S. Afr. iv. 83 It seems probable that the rare clicks which occur in Southern Sotho..may have been borrowed from the Natal Nguni.
2002 D. Aitkenhead Promised Land xiii. 136 Most of the blacks speak an African language called isiXhosa, famous for its extraordinary clicks.
b. A short sharp vocal sound produced by the sudden withdrawal of the tongue from the soft palate (e.g. as used to urge a horse forward) or nearer the hard palate or teeth (as used to express disapproval, irritation, or commiseration; cf. tsk int. Additions, tut int. b). Cf. to click one's tongue at click v.1 4a.
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the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > [noun] > expression of dissatisfaction
tut1676
click1835
slow clap1937
1835 Parterre 5 Sept. 146/2 Cantillon..gave a click of his tongue, and the horse set off without the assistance of the whip.
1897 Washington Post 5 Dec. iii. 7/5 I pointed at Strong [sc. a dog]..and made a click with my tongue. Strong obeyed that click. He stole, growling, toward Mrs. Green.
1955 O. Manning Doves of Venus i. iv. 44 As she picked up the sheets of paper, her only comment had been an occasional click of disapproval.
2009 A. Masquelier Women & Islamic Revival in West Afr. Town 275 With a disapproving click of the tongue, her listeners signaled that they shared her assessment of Rakya's predicament.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Diversicornia > family Elateridae > member of (click-beetle)
snap-beetle1698
spring beetle1782
skipper1796
elater1813
skipjack1817
snap-bug1834
click1848
snapping beetle (or bug, jack)1861
1848 J. Hardy in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 No. 6. 327 They often fall on their backs, from which position they escape by a mechanism..which..causes them to rise with a jerk, accompanied with a snapping noise, whence they have been named ‘clicks,’ or ‘spring-jacks.’
1905 R. McClelland Church & Parish Inchinnan xviii. 198 The ‘Clicks’ or ‘Skip-jacks’..are the full developed forms of the ‘Wire-worms’.
7. A sudden moment of understanding, realization, or recognition. Cf. click v.1 10.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > [noun] > moment of > experience of
click1880
aha experience1923
1880 W. James Feeling of Effort iv. 22 This is a state of consent, and the passage from the former state to it..is..characterized by the mental ‘click’ of resolve.
1934 Boys' Life Jan. 34/4 And then, with a click of his brain, a scheme was born.
1985 E. Gellner Psychoanalytic Movement ii. 39 The powerful click, the overt recognition-at-long-last.
2015 J. Oakhill et al. Understanding & Teaching Reading Comprehension i. 2 Perhaps you experienced this ‘click of comprehension’ when you had the title and re-read the text?
8. Radio and Telephony. In plural. A form of atmospheric interference heard as short sharp sounds. Cf. grinder n. 9, stray n. 3. Now rare.In quot. 1911 showing a use of the general sense A. 1a in the context of describing the sound of atmospheric interference in telephony.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > [noun] > kilometres per hour
click1914
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [noun] > signal > interference
cross-talk1887
static1905
X1906
statics1912
click1914
jam1914
grinder1922
hash1923
mush1924
echo1928
image1928
radio echo1928
harmonic interference1929
second channel1932
1911 W. H. Eccles & H. M. Airey in Proc. Royal Soc. A. 85 145 The strays are heard in the telephone as sharp clicks, as rattling noises, or as prolonged grinding or fizzing sounds.]
1914 W. H. Eccles in Year-bk. Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. 574 Three kinds of strays..are commonly heard during the telephonic reception of signals. One is a more or less prolonged rattling or grinding noise (‘grinders’); another kind consists of sharp isolated knocks (‘clicks’); and a third consists of a buzzing or frying noise (‘hum’ or ‘sizzle’).
1936 Nature 6 June 955/2 The ‘clicks’..are due to local actions inside the thunderstorm clouds, such as short sparks which are not easy to detect by visual observations.
1955 Geophysical Res. Papers (Geophysics Res. Directorate, Cambridge, Mass.) No. 42. 135 Continuous observations of grinders and clicks are..a valuable source of information about the electrical state of weather situations.
9. Computing. The action or an act of pressing (and releasing) one of the buttons (esp. the left button: see note) on a mouse or similar device as a means of selecting a particular item or activating a program function. Cf. click v.1 7. See also mouse click n. at mouse n. Compounds 2d.Clicking with the left mouse button (or the right button if the keyer is left-handed) is the usual default action in the majority of applications, and so in most contexts click refers to this action.
ΚΠ
1983 Inc. Mar. 124/3 Instead of entering commands with a keyboard, users point a device called a ‘mouse’..to control an arrow on the screen... Application screens can be piled on top of each other on the display monitor, much like piece of paper piled on a cluttered desktop. A click of the mouse brings the chosen page to the top of the pile.
1995 Independent 6 Feb. 23/7 A click of the mouse lets them look busy when the boss walks by.
2000 News (Karachi) 25 Apr. 3/4 Information of every type was just one click away.
2011 P. Dunay et al. Facebook Advertising for Dummies ix. 176 Think of this as your starting base—the number of clicks your Facebook Ad received.
B. int.
Representing a clicking sound. Frequently reduplicated or in collocation with other similar sounds.
ΚΠ
1768 Coal-hole of Cupid 59 Click, click, like sweet bells, went the glasses, the glasses.
1840 Peter Parley's Ann. 253 Old Charlotte was heard striking a light..—click—click—click!
1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne I. xi. 175 At every stitch ‘click-click’ went the steel pins.
1940 Amer. Boy Feb. 3 (caption) His blades began to cut. Click! Click! The old familiar sound.
1986 D. Potter Singing Detective v. 175 Click-clock-clack go Gibbon's shoes.
1989 Q Dec. 6/2 Albert Goldman snaps his fingers—click, click, click.
2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) v. 138 He went blind in one eye. Click! Just like that—blackness. Like turning off a light.
Phrases
clicks and mortar n. [punningly after bricks and mortar n.; compare sense A. 9] Business a retail or business strategy consisting of the use of both physical outlets and the internet to sell goods or provide services; chiefly attributive; cf. sense A. 9 and bricks and clicks n.
ΚΠ
1999 N.Z. Herald 21 May a1/5 (headline) Clicks and mortar.
1999 PR Newswire (Nexis) 19 July Pottruck defined ‘clicks and mortar’ as knitting together the best of what is available in physical distribution with the best of the web world.
2002 Bookseller 8 Feb. 9/2 The integrated ‘clicks and mortar’ approach of Samedaybooks.co.uk..has helped to more than double customer orders.
2006 P. Gottschalk ICO & Corporate Strategic Managem. (2007) vii. 166 ‘Clicks and mortar’ strategies have also met with mixed success.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense A. 3), as click catch, click iron, click latch, click pulley, etc.Recorded earliest in click wheel n. at Compounds 3a.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > parts of wheels > tooth > catch
click1714
click iron1831
ratchet1846
1772 C. White Treat. Managem. Pregnant & Lying-in Women 171 The handle..gives motion to the arbor, pinions, and click wheel.
1798 Encycl. (Amer. ed.) X. 750/2 To prevent the machinery now from running backwards, a ratchet-wheel R is fixed upon the wheel H, into which a click-catch S falls.
1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. (Cabinet Cycl.) 91 This chain..contains towards the lower end a click iron.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 566/1 Click-pulley, the rim of the sheave c..has notches, engaged by a spring click d, which acts as a detent to restrain the sheave from running back.
1879 Nature 27 Mar. 496/2 We had a tabby cat, who..would let herself in at another door by climbing up,..then pushing up the click-latch.
1948 Times 21 Apr. 2/2 The immediate cause of the accident was a faulty click-jack, a safety device intended to arrest the progress of tubs in a pit when they run away.
2005 E. McCarthy Date with Other Side iii. 32 She heard the click as the pocket door's little click latch was turned.
C2. attributive. Designating a language which features clicks (in sense A. 5a), as click language; of or relating to such speech sounds, as click sound.
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the mind > language > a language > [noun] > click language
click language1933
1848 J. Clarke Specimens Dial. 85 The language is remarkable on account of its ‘click’ and ‘clucking’ sound.
1849 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 1 428 The dialect of the Hill Damoras..is therefore included in the Click Class of African tongues.
1933 J. T. Tucker Angola i. 12 These tiny people spoke a ‘click’ language using only nouns and verbs.
1950 D. Jones Phoneme 6 C. M. Doke has invented special letters for all these click combinations.
1974 W. Abish Alphabet. Afr. 27 Alex can express himself in five click dialects.
2014 K. Stollznow Lang. Myths, Myst. & Magic xviii. 196 Some indigenous African languages are complex due to their large number of click consonants.
C3.
a. General compounds (for compounds relating to computing see Compounds 3b).
click beetle n. any of numerous beetles of the family Elateridae, having a spine on the prosternum that snaps into a notch on the mesosternum, which produces a clicking sound and springs the beetle into the air as a means of startling predators and escaping.There are various names for these beetles, including elater n.1 2, skipjack n. 5a, and snap-beetle n. at snap- comb. form 1a; their larvae are wireworms (wireworm n. 1).
ΚΠ
1830 J. Rennie Insect Transformations ix. 229 The grub called the wire worm, though not very appropriately, is the larva of one of the spring or click beetles.
1896 Daily Herald (Delphos, Ohio) 13 Apr. Our common kinds of click beetles are mostly small or of medium size. A few are larger.
1922 People's Home Jrnl. July 38/3 May beetles, click beetles and other harmful beetles are a joy to him.
2011 Independent 27 July (Viewspaper section) 11/1 The Red click-beetle is not only rare, but effectively invisible.
click reel n. a reel on a fishing rod having a catch to prevent the line running back.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > reel > [noun] > types of
click reel1824
salmon reel1841
multiplier1847
salmon winch1883
casting-reel1892
check-reel1892
Nottingham1898
1824 P. Hawker Instr. Young Sportsmen (ed. 3) 165 Use a multiplying click reel, without a stop.
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 62 A more flexible rod..with a click-reel.
2001 L. Ulrich Age of Homespun ii. 78 Crammed in..is a more obscure set of tools—a broken quill winder, a homemade skein winder, and the inner workings of a click reel.
click-speaking adj. that speaks a language featuring clicks (in sense A. 5a).
ΚΠ
1950 S. Afr. Archaeol. Bull. 5 106/2 When the Masai compose a corpse prior to its abandonment to carnivora, they remove all metal ornaments... So do..the click-speaking Sandawe.
1968 New Scientist 29 Feb. 456/3 The click-speaking Bushmen and Hottentots.
1999 R. K. Hitchcock in R. B. Lee & R. Daly Cambr. Encycl. Hunters & Gatherers i. iv. 180/1 Like the Bushmen, the Hadza are click-speaking peoples.
click stop n. any of a number of standard settings on a control device, esp. for the aperture of a camera lens, which are engaged with a click when the device is rotated or moved; frequently attributive.
ΚΠ
1949 O. Thomas in Photogr. Jrnl. A. Oct. 227/2 I would like diaphragms to have click stops... This applies also to the enlarger: if there is a click stop, it is simple to get down to the aperture required.
1989 Which? Oct. 513/1 Controls [on a cooker] should enable the user to ‘feel’ the right setting—click-stop controls, for example.
1991 Buying Cameras Mar. 12 Focusing is silky smooth and the click-stops for the shutter speeds and apertures are extremely positive.
2001 Treasure Hunting Feb. 15/2 (advt.) All fitted with click-stop hi-grade volume control and stereo/mono compatibility switch.
click track n. (a) a series of audio cues intended to assist the synchronization of sound and film recordings; (b) an electronically generated metronome pulse used to help musicians keep time and rhythm.
ΚΠ
1937 M. Steiner in N. Naumburg We make Movies xiv. 236 I sometimes use this click track to guide me in long sequences, when the tempo is more or less unvarying, such as storm, train, racing, or battle sequences.
1945 Theatre Arts 29 36 Suddenly, with some invisible common compulsion, the musicians start playing, the conductor goes into action. They are answering the call of the click-track beat, the metronome count that goes on continuously in the earphones.
2004 Mod. Drummer June 13/2 For video that absolutely must be in sync, the easiest way is to record a click track onto the audio portion of the video, then feed that audio into your headphones or in-ear monitors.
2015 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 28 Feb. f6 Mullen protested that the click track was slightly off, and that he couldn't play to it.
click wheel n. (a) a ratchet wheel (now chiefly historical); (b) a finger-operated control for an electronic device (esp. an iPod) which incorporates a touch-sensitive ring and clickable buttons.
ΚΠ
1772Click wheel [see Compounds 1].
1821 Repertory Arts, Manuf., & Agric. Sept. 199 I use a double set of ratchet or click-wheels.
1998 InternetWeek 31 Aug. 31/2 Click wheels started appearing on mice and cell phones a couple of years ago, but no one has done such a masterful job organizing the nested menus behind them.
2002 F. Tallis Hidden Minds i. 2 These clever devices [sc. clocks], with their springs and bobs, click wheels and ratchets, provided the age with a guiding metaphor.
2007 Stuff July 124/3 (caption) The click-wheel is great for careering through menus, though it will take time to gauge the trackball's sensitivity.
b. Compounds relating to computing. See also clickbait n.
click fraud n. the practice of causing an online advertisement to receive a large number of clicks for the sole purpose of increasing the number of payments made by the advertiser to the owner of the host website.The practice can be carried out by the website owner for financial gain or for malicious reasons by a third party.
ΚΠ
2001 Re: Pay per click affiliates in alt.www.affiliate (Usenet newsgroup) 18 June Regardless of whether CJ have / haven't been accurate with any accusations of click-fraud—soon it won't matter either way!
2003 PR Newswire (Nexis) 7 May A lot of click fraud happens in the pay-per-click industry.
2010 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Apr. 8/2 They could be used to hack Google's servers or for attacks against Google services using click fraud and spam.
click rate n. the proportion of visitors to a web page containing a particular advertisement who click on this advertisement to reach the advertiser's website; = click-through rate n. at click-through n. and adj. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1995 Business Wire (Nexis) 15 Sept. Web Review offers advertisers the potential for solid results, in the form of high click rates on their ads.
2015 Guardian (Nexis) 6 Mar. There is a major difference in click rates between banner ads and native ads in mobile.
clickstream n. (a record of) the sequence of links (with associated metadata) that a user clicks on, as a representation of a person's activities on the World Wide Web.
ΚΠ
1995 PR Newswire (Nexis) 10 Mar. The consortium..are introducing The Interactive Information Index which measures media based on ‘click streams’ or readings from consumer button pushes on interactive remote control changers and PC keyboards.
2009 T. Footman Noughties vi. 92 Every time we paid with our credit card, drove on a toll road or made a call on our mobile phone, we left behind a digital trail, a trail which—like our clickstream—could be analyzed, interpreted and (potentially) exploited.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
clickn.2
/klɪk/, U.S. /klɪk/ Chiefly colloquial or humorous.
= clique n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > a coterie or clique
junto1659
cabal1660
Cabbala1671
club1682
clique1711
galère1756
click1813
coterie1827
cenacle1889
magic circle1924
1813 H. L. Stanhope Let. 20 Oct. in I. Bruce Nun of Lebanon (1951) II. xvii. 218 Pray keep out of the horrid Jacobean set..for I think it may be a disadvantage to you at Vienna if you are supposed to be of that click.
1822 Edinb. Rev. Nov. 320 The little spirit of a click, or party.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. iii. v. 607 Local fellers, they was, all in a click, y'know, a gang.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 63 Here was a family: at any rate, a lot, a mob, a click I could belong to.
2008 A. Proulx Fine just Way It Is 188 Verl referred to Match as ‘him and his click. Them bastards pretty much run things the way they want.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
clickn.3
/klɪk/, U.S. /klɪk/ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > [noun] > laying hold or seizing > suddenly or eagerly > sudden or violent grasp
snatch1587
click1824
clutch1833
grab1835
1824 R. Gilchrist Coll. Orig. Songs 10 Fornenst the tower, we made a click, Where traitors gat their fairins'.
1835 J. Everett Wall's End Miner iv. 74 He lays one hand on the gate-post..and stretches forth the other to make a click (catch) at the soul just as it slips in before him.
1869 Fraser's Mag. Mar. 326/2 A lile terrier..hedn't hed a click at ought.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 98/1 T'dog nobbut made a click at t'cat.
2. † b. The act of catching or hooking with a click-hook. Obsolete. rare.
a. English regional (north midlands and northern), Scottish, and Irish English (northern). A hook; = cleek n. 1a. Cf. click-hook n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > hook
hookc900
haspedec1400
cleek1426
cleek-staffc1440
cramp1503
hock1530
gib-crook1564
cramp-iron1565
gib1567
cramper1598
bench hook1619
crampon1660
wall-hook1681
dressing hook1683
woodcock-eye1796
doghook1821
click1846
clipper1849
ice hook1853
witchetty1862
slip-hook1863
snap-hook1875
clip-hook1882
pelican1890
snake hook1944
1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) I. 252 Klick, a peg or knob for hanging anything upon.
1883 T. Lees Easther's Gloss. Dial. Almondbury & Huddersfield Clicks, the hooks used for moving packs of wool.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 65/1 Cleek, click, 1 a hook. 2 specifically a hook for pots, etc. over an open fire.
2005 A. Fenton Buchan Words & Ways ii. 36 Ye vrocht it wi ae han, pickin up e swads or yallas een at a time wi e click in either han.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [noun] > jerking > a jerk > with a cleek or hook
click1886
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 Oct. 4/2 When a fish is seen the hooks are simply thrown beyond it, and..a sharp ‘click’ usually sends them into the soft under parts of the fish.
3. Wrestling. A manoeuvre (esp. in Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling) whereby an opponent's foot is hooked away from the ground with one's leg. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > manoeuvres
swengOE
turn?c1225
castc1400
trip1412
fall?a1425
foil1553
collar1581
lock1598
faulx1602
fore-hip1602
forward1602
inturn1602
mare1602
hug1617
disembracement1663
buttock1688
throw1698
back-lock1713
cross-buttock1713
flying horse1713
in holds1713
buttocker1823
chip1823
dogfall1823
cross-buttocker1827
hitch1834
bear hug1837
backfall1838
stop1840
armlock1841
side hug1842
click1846
catch-hold1849
back-breaker1867
back-click1867
snap1868
hank1870
nelson1873
headlock1876
chokehold1886
stranglehold1886
hip lock1888
heave1889
strangle1890
pinfall1894
strangler's grip1895
underhold1895
hammer-lock1897
scissor hold1897
body slam1899
scissors hold1899
armbar1901
body scissors1903
scissors grip1904
waist-hold1904
neck hold1905
scissors1909
hipe1914
oshi1940
oshi-dashi1940
oshi-taoshi1940
pindown1948
lift1958
whip1958
Boston crab1961
grapevine1968
powerbomb1990
1846 Morning Post 11 Apr. 6/1 Pearson throwing his opponent by the inside ‘click’.
1867 Newcastle Courant 14 June 2/3 J. Carruthers tried to get in both the inside and outside click, but his opponent..succeeded in swinging him to the ground.
1872 Daily News 21 May Graham is said to be one of the best men in England for the click... Putting on the click.., he brought Mein down.
1907 New Amer. Encycl. Social & Commerc. Information (new ed.) 584/2 To foil the hip either apply the click very low down, or close the knees.
2013 Westmorland Gaz. (Nexis) 11 May He lost the first fall but fought back to take the next two with an inside click.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > of manual workers > payment to miners
tribute1832
furtherance1849
footage1873
click1876
1876 C. C. Robinson Gloss. Words Dial. Mid-Yorks. Click, a familiar term amongst miners for money earned or gained in addition to regular wages.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
clickv.1
/klɪk/, U.S. /klɪk/ I. Senses relating primarily to a clicking sound.† 5. transitive. Printing. colloquial. To print (a book) using a group of compositors working together under a clicker (clicker n. 1c); to oversee the printing of (a book) as a clicker. Cf. clicking n. 4. Obsolete. rare.† 6. intransitive. Manufacturing Technology. To rule lines using a pen guided by a mechanism featuring a wheel which clicks (in quot. with away). Also transitive: to apply (such a pen) to a line. Cf. clicker n. 1d. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. intransitive. To make a click or clicking sound. Also reduplicated.Also with following adverbial of direction or position (see, for example, quots. 1986, 1992).In quot. a1500: to chatter continually; see note at click n.1 1a and cf. clack v.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sharp or hard sound > [verb (intransitive)] > click
clicka1500
cluck1729
clicket1773
snick1892
a1500 (a1393) J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Cambr. Mm.2.21) in J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words (1852) 258 (MED) Sche..bygynnyth to chyde, And clykyth forthe [a1393 Fairf. chitreth out] in hure langage Wat falshode ys in maryage.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Cliquer, to clacke, clap, clatter, clicke it.
1668 Bp. E. Hopkins Vanity of World 115 The Wheels of a Watch move and click as fast, when it goes false, as when it goes true.
1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week v. 101 The solemn death-watch [beetle] click'd the hour she died.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 16 The varnished clock that clicked behind the door.
1820 B. H. Smart Pract. Elocution i. 20 The-clumsy-kitchen-clock click-clicked.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xxxiii. 287 The ice sounded..like some one hammering a nail against the ship's side, clicking at regular intervals.
1927 Amer. Mercury July 333/1 Typewriters click constantly, reeling out the true facts about Washington.
1950 D. Gascoyne Vagrant 14 Abbott's camera clicked.
1986 K. Moore Moving House xii. 154 The receiver clicked back into place.
1992 Prairie Fire Autumn 185 She hurries click-clicking across the marble floors.
2002 N. Lebrecht Song of Names v. 126 I heard the front door click as Mortimer Simmonds..went to synagogue to recite kaddish for a man he had met only once.
b. transitive. To cause (a thing) to make a click or clicking sound. Also (esp. in early use): to strike in such a way as to cause such a sound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sharp or hard sound > [verb (transitive)] > click
click1581
snick1828
1581 T. Lovell Dialogue Custom & Veritie sig. Bviiiv He trips her toe and clicks her cheek, To showe what he dooth craue.
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. i. 284 Ioue..at the stroake clickt all his marble Thumb's. View more context for this quotation
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. viii. 124 Humble your selves, and click your Chains to th' ground.
1791 Bee 13 July 6 Passing through slowly the various apartments, he clicked the doors with his pass key behind him.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. xiv. 214 They..clicked their glasses together.
1863 A. T. Wood tr. T. Gautier Romance of Mummy i. 62 In the narrow pathways..were cautiously stepping two tame storks, clicking their long beaks.
1918 W. Owen Let. 20 Mar. (1967) 541 Mrs. A. can click the piano quite quickly.
1958 Newnes Compl. Amateur Photogr. 156 All one has to do is to point the camera and click the shutter.
2013 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 4 Sept. 37 She clicks castanets with a handsome Spaniard.
2. intransitive. Of a horse: to strike the forefoot with the toe of the hind hoof (typically with a clicking sound) while trotting, cantering, etc., as indicative of a defective gait. Cf. click n.1 2. Now rare.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > strike one leg against other
interfere1530
overreach1590
cut1660
hitch1686
click1713
brush1868
1713 London Gaz. No. 5170/4 A dark dapple grey Gelding,..sometimes clicks in his Pace.
1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 463/3 (advt.) The side weight is working wonders..in curing horses that knee knock, hitch, click, interfere, or single foot.
1994 T. Ivers Fit Racehorse II xi. 398 Whenever a running horse ‘clicks’ at the trot on the way to or from the racetrack, it is improperly shod.
3.
a. transitive. Of a clock or watch: to mark or show (the time or the passing of time), esp. with a click or clicking sound. Also intransitive with by: (of time) to pass, elapse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [verb (transitive)] > measure out by beats
click1826
to beat out1850
1826 Lancet 7 Oct. 74/1 Just as the clock clicked three, Mr. M'Dowel was seen to move down the quays.
a1832 G. Crabbe Posthumous Tales i, in Poet. Wks. (1834) VIII. 17 The clock, that both by night and day, Click'd the short moments.
1892 Sunday Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 26 June 13/3 Again I looked at my time and the hands clicked 51 seconds.
1969 Black Belt July 47 Seino began to look worried as the time clicked by.
1984 Joplin (Missouri) Globe 31 Aug. 18 a The huge digital clock in front of the viewing stand clicked the seconds away.
2015 K. Cruz Dateline: Purgatory vi. 39 The clock on my iPhone clicks midnight.
b. transitive. To produce (a result) by means of a switch, button, device, etc., which makes a click or clicking sound; (in later use often) spec. to take (a photograph) with a camera. Chiefly with off, out.
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1857 D. Bigelow Hist. Prominent Firms U.S. 250 (advt.) The thousands of their machines, daily clicking off numberless stitches in families of every rank in life.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 17 Apr. 8/1 How assiduously some of the political typists must have been clicking out these words of late.
1911 Washington Post 9 Aug. 4/5 The wireless operator..was clicking a message to the navy yard.
1962 J. Dill in J. Glenn et al. Into Orbit p. xix A robot could easily click off pictures automatically or take measurements of radiation and heat.
1988 S. Bellow Theft 10 Her mother..clicked out your allowance from the bus conductor's changemaker hanging from her neck.
2013 ‘M. K. Andrews’ Ladies' Night xxii. 145 She took her camera from around her neck and stepped into the street, clicking off a few frames.
c. intransitive. Of a person: to cause a click or clicking sound by operating a switch, button, device, etc.; (in later use often) spec. to take a photograph with a camera. Chiefly with away. Also reduplicated.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > take photograph [verb (intransitive)]
photograph1857
fire1859
click1937
1869 London Society Jan. 77/1 Tailors and cloakmakers clicking away with machines in making their seams and hems.
1896 Humanitarian June 432 Click-clicking with a typewriter all day long.
1937 C. Beaton Diary 3 June in Wandering Years (1961) 311 Photographing the bridal couple together proved more elusive... Then the two sat hip to hip on the pouf, his far hand around her waist while I clicked away.
1997 I. Sinclair Lights out for Territory (1998) 159 Marc has whipped out his camera and is clicking away.
2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 17 June d4/3 They have been clicking round the clock since August, capturing thousands of portraits of all sorts of animals.
d. transitive. Of a person: to turn (an electric light, a device, etc.) on or off, esp. with a button or switch which makes a click or clicking sound.
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1908 Youth's Compan. 6 Feb. p. iii/1 She..clicked on the light.
1939 I. Baird Waste Heritage x. 130 The radio man clicked on the pilot light and grunts and squeals began to come from the little machine.
1964 F. Pohl in Galaxy Mag. Oct. 178/2 She clicked off the 3-V.
1982 Giant Bk. Electronics Projects ix. 391 Click the night thermostat on.
2010 T. N. Batson Mr. Big xii. 67 Big clicked off the phone.
e. intransitive. Of an electric light, a device, etc.: to come on or go off, esp. by means of a switch or button which makes a click or clicking sound.
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1911 Wide World Mag. July 335/2 The lights clicked on again and revealed a scene of indescribable confusion.
1934 Washington Post 2 Jan. 10/1 When the toast is done, the electric current automatically ‘clicks’ off.
1986 S. Minot Monkeys i. 20 Next we hear the TV click on.
2008 P. Ward Bad Girls burn Slow xvi. 227 The bathroom light clicked off and the living room light clicked on.
4.
a. transitive. to click one's tongue: to produce a sharp clicking sound with the tongue, esp. to express disapproval, irritation, or commiseration, or to call or urge forward an animal. See click n.1 5b.
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1851 R. Waddington tr. F. M. von Bodenstedt Morning-land I. xii. 183 The bearded coachman clicked his tongue, the knowing horses pricked up their ears with brisk intelligence.
1892 E. W. Hornung Under Two Skies 193 ‘It's very sad,’ said Willock, clicking his tongue and affecting concern.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas xviii. 203 He was clicking his tongue in gentle self-reproach.
1975 Eastern Province Herald (Port Elizabeth) 5 July 9 ‘Yo, food costs too much,’ the women said, clicking their tongues.
1991 M. Tully No Full Stops in India (1992) i. 49 A young boy walked behind the bullocks, clicking his tongue, flicking their tails and occasionally thwacking them with a stick of sugar cane.
2003 C. Birch Turn again Home iv. 69 Mam clicked her tongue. ‘Oh, well,’ she said, ‘I suppose it's about time. Still, there's no fool like an old fool.’
b. transitive. to click one's fingers: to make a sharp clicking sound by pushing the last joint of the middle finger against the pad of the thumb and quickly releasing it so that it strikes the ball of the thumb, typically to attract a person's attention or accompany the beat of music. Also figurative as the type of a gesture intended to get something accomplished with little effort or in a peremptory manner. Cf. snap v. 12b.
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1857 M. G. Browne Autobiogr. Female Slave xx. 179 ‘I wants that yallow wench,’ and he clicked his fingers at me.
1881 J. Osmaston Old Ali xiv. 320 The Persians, one and all began clicking their fingers in ecstasy.
1926 N.Y. Herald Tribune Mag. 11 July 9/4 He clicked his fingers. At last, the flash of inspiration!
1958 K. Amis I like it Here ii. 28 He can probably get us a villa just by clicking his fingers.
1968 L. Deighton Only when I Larf xi. 133 A cigarette girl came past and he clicked his fingers at her and asked for matches.
1989 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 7 Nov. They clicked their fingers along with the music.
2013 M. Blake Marriage made of Secrets ii. 28 Now you've decided you want your daughter you think you can just click your fingers to make it happen?
c. transitive. to click one's heels: to bring one's heels together sharply while in a standing position, typically when wearing boots or shoes so as to produce a sharp clicking noise, esp. as a gesture of military discipline, obedience, or respect. Also to click one's heels together.The gesture is popularly associated particularly with fascist authoritarianism in Europe in the mid 20th century.The phrase is also sometimes associated with the character of Dorothy in the 1939 U.S. film The Wizard of Oz (and the 1900 book by L. Frank Baum on which it is based) who must tap her heels together in order to grant her wish to return home from the land of Oz. Cf. to tap one's heels together at tap v.2 Additions.
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1863 London Soc. Nov. 475/2 A native gentleman comes up, casts a respectful glance of admiration on your partner, clicks his heels together, gives a smart bow, and before you can say Jack Robinson, is twirling her round the room.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) iv. 115 Monsieur Gerardy clicked his heels in the middle of the floor and punctiliously saluted everyone present.
1938 J. Hilton To you, Mr. Chips i. 51 No upstart authority has yet compelled him to click his heels and begin the day with juju incantations of Heils and Vivas.
1993 R. Shell iCED 77 She thinks that all I have to do is be around the right kind of people and I'll click my heels and be back home and out of my Ozzy-drug-world.
2002 H. Ritchie Friday Night Club (2003) i. vi. 59 ‘Isn't it your turn to get the tea ?’ ‘Jawohl.’ Derek clicks his heels together.
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1860 G. Ruse & C. Straker Printing 121 A work is said to be ‘clicked’ when each man works on his lines, and keeps an account thereof.
1891 Brit. Printer July 13/1 Before my apprenticeship was out, however, I had ‘clicked’, made-up, and sent to press a volume of 250 pp.
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1869 Eng. Mech. 5 Nov. 166/3 He ‘clicks’ his pen to the first white line... Over sheet after sheet he clicks away.
7. Computing.
a. transitive. To press (one of the buttons on a mouse or similar device) and release instantaneously or hold down while performing another action; to activate (a program function) or select (a particular item) in this way, having first positioned the cursor on the appropriate part of the computer screen; (typically) spec. = left-click vb. (b) at left adj.1, n., and adv. Compounds 2c (see note). Cf. double-click v.Clicking the left mouse button is the usual default action in the majority of applications, and so in most contexts click, when unmodified, refers to left-clicking. Cf. right-click vb. at right adj. and int. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1979 Proc. 1st Ann. Conf. Computer Graphics in CAD/CAM Syst. 48 You can select which stipple you wish to draw with by pointing at the appropriate one and clicking one of the buttons on the mouse (of which there are three).
1982 Byte Apr. 252/3 They would be selected by pointing to them with the mouse and clicking one of the buttons.
1991 Macintosh User's Guide for Macintosh PowerBook Computers ii. 11 When you click an icon, it becomes highlighted.
2000 PC World Nov. 250/3 Click an entry and drag it to the Insert menu.
2013 Daily Tel. 15 Nov. 4/5 Users who clicked the link downloaded malware.
b. intransitive. To press (and release) one of the buttons on a mouse or similar device; to activate a program function or select a particular item in this way, having first positioned the mouse pointer on the appropriate part of the computer screen; (typically) spec. = left-click vb. (a) at left adj.1, n., and adv. Compounds 2c (see note at sense 7a). Frequently with adverb or prepositional complement.
ΚΠ
1984 PC 17 Apr. 215/2 To move a window intact with a mouse, you would first click on the top left of a window and then click at the desired new location of the left-hand corner.
1989 Computer Buyer's Guide & Handbk. 7 vi. 29/2 You insert the program disk and click on the Install icon.
1997 J. Seabrook Deeper v. 163 The trick was to hit a site, browse it, see a link, click on it, and get transferred to another site.
2013 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 8 Dec. d4/1 After you download each program and click to install it, you'll get two or three screens offering additional software.
II. colloquial. Figurative and extended uses.
8.
a. intransitive. To work, function, operate. See also to click on all cylinders at cylinder n. 6.
ΚΠ
1898 To-Day 5 Mar. 133/1 Isaac would sit poring over it [sc. a book] for hours, his brain clicking and swelling all the time.
1900 Louisiana Planter & Sugar Manufacturer 17 Nov. 301/1 The Chetwood plant is as usual clicking along at a lively gait with Chief Philip D. McLaughlin at the wheel.
1908 Z. Gale Friendship Village 299 They all knew what I said well enough, but when I spoke to 'em about what was rill interestin' to me, seemed like their minds didn't click, with that good little feelin' o' rilly takin' it in.
2005 S. Raab Five Families l. 574 Before he could get his brain clicking..the door sprang open.
b. intransitive. To be effective or successful; to have a desired outcome or effect. Also of two or more things: to come together successfully or harmoniously (cf. sense 9).
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the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)]
speedc1175
fayc1300
provec1300
flourishc1400
passc1425
prosper1434
succeedc1450
to take placea1464
to come well to (our) pass1481
shift?1533
hitc1540
walka1556
fadge1573
thrive1587
work1599
to come (good) speedc1600
to go off1608
sort1613
go1699
answer1721
to get along1768
to turn up trumps1785
to come off1854
pan1865
scour1871
arrive1889
to work out1899
to ring the bell1900
to go over1907
click1916
happen1949
1916 E. V. Lucas Cloud & Silver 134 The glimpses of stranded mummers in the towns where they did not, as stage folk say, ‘click’.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves iv. 40 ‘I was tempted to..gamble at the Casino.’... ‘Did you click?’ He sighed heavily. ‘If you mean was I successful, I must answer in the negative.’
1930 Times 29 Mar. 10/4 The objects are arranged but not composed..so that they remind you a little of people assembled harmoniously but lacking some common emotion. They don't ‘click’.
1978 Orange Coast Mag. Sept. 95/1 Fantasy rarely clicks on the silver screen.
2002 Entertainm. Weekly 18 Jan. 77/2 It's the slower cuts that click: Variety Lab's ‘London in the Rain’ unfurls like a pickup scene in an Antonioni movie.
9. intransitive. Originally: to strike up a potential romantic or sexual encounter or relationship with someone. Later: to become quickly friendly or intimate (with someone); to get on well, esp. romantically.
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the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > be friendly [verb (intransitive)] > get on (well) > meet or fall in with fortunately
click1915
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > be friendly [verb (intransitive)] > get on (well)
gree?a1513
to get in with1602
cotton1605
to hitch (also set, or stable) horses together1617
to hit it1634
gee1685
to set horses together1685
to be made for each other (also one another)1751
to hit it off1780
to get ona1805
to hitch horses together1835
niggle1837
to step together1866
to speak (also talk) someone's (also the same) language1893
to stall with1897
cog1926
groove1935
click1954
vibe1986
1915 T. Burke Nights in Town 107 The girls..promenade until they ‘click’ with someone, and are escorted to a picture palace or hall or chocolate shop.
1934 C. Lambert Music Ho! iii. vii. 208 Receiving the glad eye from presumably attractive girls with whom he ultimately and triumphantly ‘clicks’.
1954 McCall's Feb. 69/2 We just clicked... I don't know how you put these things in words. Look at her, you can understand... We could talk, and we clicked, that's all.
1981 N.Y. Times 25 Feb. a8/4 He met Miss Right and she met Mr. Right. They just clicked.
1996 N.Y. Mag. 8 July 26/1 She clicked with her customers.
2004 County Wedding Mag. 38/1 We just clicked—as if it was meant to be.
10.
a. intransitive. To become suddenly clear, understandable, or recognizable; to begin to make sense; to fall into place. Frequently with impersonal subject. Cf. to click into place at Phrases 1.
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the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > be intelligible [verb (intransitive)]
to make sense1554
connect1753
it (or that) figures1854
click1916
to add up1942
jive1943
1916 M. C. Lethbridge Russ. Chaps 191 Something clicked in Simeon's brain. He began to remember.
1960 ‘A. Burgess’ Right to Answer ii. 37 Then the name clicked, because somebody in the town had talked about Everett.
1996 Times 13 Nov. 46/6 That night it just clicked that this was what I wanted to do.
2010 Daily Mirror 3 Dec. 70 I'd almost forgotten about the Antara, but then it clicked. It's Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Captiva.
b. transitive (chiefly British). With that-clause as object. Of a person: to realize or understand (something) suddenly; to have (a fact, concept, etc.) fall into place.
ΚΠ
1967 A. Diment Dolly Dolly Spy xi. 148 I wanted to see his face when he clicked Detmann wasn't with me.
1979 J. Shawyer Death by Adoption viii. 135 Suddenly they clicked that I was one of them.
1999 Independent (Nexis) 24 Oct. 5 He's clicked that the best way to get publicity is for a bunch of lovelies to strike a rapport with match spectators.
2004 Loaded Mar. 78/1 Eventually, thank Christ, my partners got me out when they clicked that something had gone wrong.
11. Military. Now somewhat rare.
a. intransitive. To be assigned to a particular duty, esp. a menial or unpleasant one. Frequently with for.
ΚΠ
1917 W. Muir Observ. Orderly 226 To click can be either advantageous or baneful... A soldier asks a superior for a favour, and it is granted. That soldier has clicked... But he has also clicked if he is suddenly seized on to do some menial duty.
1919 Athenæum 8 Aug. 729/1 To ‘click for fatigue’ is to ‘come in for’ a fatigue duty at the psychological moment.
1966 Listener 22 Dec. 927/1 I came out of hibernation..to find that I had clicked for a most alarming job.
1980 A. S. Dolden Cannon Fodder 8 If any distasteful work had to be done ‘D’ Company seemed to ‘click’.
b. transitive. To come in for, to end up with.
ΚΠ
1917 A. G. Empey From Fire Step 65 Trench mortars started dropping ‘Minnies’ in our front line. We clicked several casualties.
1944 J. H. Fullarton Troop Target xxx. 213 They tell me Micca's a good picquet to click.
1980 A. S. Dolden Cannon Fodder xxi. 145 The Battalion ‘clicked’ another bad packet, having between eighty to a hundred casualties.
c. transitive (in passive or with it). To be killed or wounded.
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the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (intransitive)] > be killed
to be deadc1000
fallOE
spilla1300
suffera1616
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) toa1774
to lose the number of one's mess1807
to go up1825
to get his (also hers, theirs)1903
to cop (also stop, catch, get, etc.) a packet1916
click1917
not to know (or to wonder) what hit one1923
to get the works1928
to go for a burton1941
(to get) the chop or chopper1945
1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 286 ‘Clicked it.’ Got killed; up against it; wounded.
1919 Athenæum 11 July 582/2 The verb ‘click’..has developed some passive meanings, such as to get killed.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 58 Poor old Tom got clicked by a sniper this morning.
1935 P. Wylie Smiling Corpse xvi. 164 He felt our pockets and although either of us might have jumped him, you could tell from his expression one of us would have been clicked.
12. intransitive. To become pregnant, to conceive. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > conception > conceive [verb (intransitive)]
trima1325
conceivec1375
greatenc1390
to fall with child (also bairn)a1464
impregnate1711
start1846
catch1858
fall1891
click1936
to be caught out1957
to fall for ——1957
big1982
1936 N. Coward Fumed Oak ii, in To-night at 8.30 II. 58 A couple of months later you'd told me you'd clicked, you cried a hell of a lot, I remember.
1954 Landfall (N.Z.) Sept. 228 There was Heather, who had ‘clicked for a baby’.
1982 P. Bailey Eng. Madam 45 I had sex with Terry and I clicked.
Phrases
P1. to click into place: (of the different parts of an idea, concept, etc.) to fit together so a situation becomes clear and understandable. Cf. place n.1 Phrases 1h.With allusion to component parts of a puzzle, mechanism, etc., fitting together to create a unified or working whole.
ΚΠ
1917 Eng. Rev. Aug. 170 Every truth is related to every other truth... A child can struggle with them, and occasionally hear them click into place as they fit together.
1932 F. S. Fitzgerald in Amer. Mercury Oct. 209/2 Everything was clicking into place in Joel's career.
1961 Financial Times 21 Apr. 22/4 Most if not all of the complicated scenes which have preceded it click into place.
1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! ii. 11 Given this info, everything soon clicks into place.
2015 Metro (Nexis) 22 Apr. 31 When he was 17, he was cast in István Szabó's Being Julia. And things clicked into place.
P2.
click-and-drag adj. Computing designating an operation in which a user moves an image, icon, text, etc., on a display screen by holding down the button of a mouse (or similar input device) while repositioning the cursor; (also) designating an image, etc., that can be manipulated in this way; cf. drag-and-drop adj.
ΚΠ
1985 InfoWorld 18 Mar. 39 On the Macintosh, that's a click-and-drag operation.
1997 S. B. Gerber & K. E. Voelkl New Statist. Anal. of Data i. 24 You need to use the ‘click-and-drag’ method to highlight the area before opening the Print dialog box.
2002 P. Raines Simple Stonescaping (2003) i. 12/2 New digital tools, such as landscape software with click-and-drag boulders and trees, make the process more accessible than ever to non-professionals.
2013 Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News (Nexis) 28. Apr. A click-and-drag feature that allows users to seamlessly move up, down and side to side and zoom in and out within a pedigree chart.
P3. to click and collect (also to click n collect): to buy or order goods from a store's website and collect them from a local branch. Cf. click and collect adj. and n.
ΚΠ
2000 Evening Standard 21 Dec. 37/1 The superstore is perfect for one-stop shopping... Ring and reserve..or click and collect..and your order will be waiting for you at the store.
2005 Retail Week (Nexis) 15 Sept. It had touches of the modern, allowing campers to click-and-collect online orders from the store.
2010 Financial Times 12 June 15/4 (heading) Online shoppers rush to click and collect.
2013 Daily Star (Nexis) 23 Jan. 27 An Xbox game in store was £34.99, on the net it was £24. You can then click n collect that game for £24 from the store.
Phrasal verbs
PV1. With through as a preposition. to click through ——
Computing.
intransitive. To navigate through, access, or activate (a series of files, web pages, etc.) by clicking on hyperlinks or other clickable elements.
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1985 PC 8 Jan. 251 This limitation makes it necessary to click through several levels of submenus to get anything done.
1989 Info-Mac Digest V6 #120 in comp.sys.mac.digest (Usenet newsgroup) 13 Oct. No longer do you need to click through a series of requesters.
1995 Face Jan. 96/2 You can click through early Digital Pictures efforts like Double Switch, a haunted house runaround directed by Mary Lambert.
2011 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 9 Jan. (Business section) 7/5 He sits..with five other lawyers, all clicking through page after page of documents on computers.
PV2. With through as an adverb. to click through
Computing.
intransitive. To click on and follow a hyperlink or other clickable element (in order to get to another file, web page, etc.).
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1993 MacWeek 3 May 18/3 Users can start at a deposit record and click through to the invoices contained in the deposit.
1997 J. Hagel & A. G. Armstrong Net.gain i. iii. 46 The advertiser pays based on the number of viewers of the ad who ‘click through’ to get more information.
2002 Which? Feb. 26/3 You can't buy products on the site but you can click through to individual company sites.
2013 Long Beach (Calif.) Reg. 3 Oct. 14/1 More than 12,000 people visited its website, with 1,285 clicking through..to continue shopping for medical coverage.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
clickv.2
/klɪk/, U.S. /klɪk/ English regional (north midlands and northern) and Scottish in later use.
transitive. To clutch, snatch, seize, take hold of (also figurative); = cleek v. Also occasionally intransitive. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp > suddenly or forcibly
catcha1250
titc1330
beclapc1386
clutch1393
clitcha1400
cleekc1440
cletch1612
click1651
get1831
to seize hold of1839
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp > quickly or suddenly > snatch up
latcha1225
plitcha1400
snap1550
snatch1555
click1651
snack1871
scoop1916
snarf1968
1651 H. More Second Lash of Alazonomastix 27 You would be afraid that some Presbyterian may click you up for a tithe-pig, and eat you.
1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 283 To disarm my Antagonist of several Arguments that he clicks up.
a1708 T. Ward England's Reformation (1716) iv. 397 ‘I take 'em to prevent abuses,’ Cants he, and then the Crucifix And Chalice from the Altar clicks.
1765 Universal Mag. 37 40/1 I clik'd a fancy to you.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 322 Click, to snatch hastily or rudely.
1863 Mrs. Toogood Specim. Yorks. Dial. Click hold of him.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Click, to snatch... Click up, mud is said to click up when it adheres in large flakes to the feet.
1888 B. Edmondston & J. M. E. Saxby Home of Naturalist 294 She would have been virtuously indignant if you had accused her of dishonesty when she klickit sugar or cake.
1924 J. H. Wilkinson Leeds Dial. Gloss. & Lore 90 She clicked it aht o' mi' 'and.
1988 G. Lamb Orkney Wordbk. Click, to snatch: He clickèd hid oot o me hand.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 61/2 Click, to grab, or to snatch. ‘Doernt click it lãike that! Tek it aãvely lãike.’
2002 A. Kellett Yorks. Dict. (ed. 2) 33/2 Click 'od o' yond!, catch hold of that!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1int.1611
n.21813n.31824
v.1a1500
v.21651- extreme bells
- extreme change
- extreme fighting
- extreme fortune
- extreme interval
- extreme key
- extreme old age
- fairy martin
- fairy money
- fairy moss
- fairy mound
- fairy mushroom
- fairy nip
- fairy of the mine
- fairy of the sea
- fairy palace
- fairy pavements
- fairy penguin
- fairy people
- fairy petticoats
- fairy pipe
- fairy primrose
- fairy prince
- fairy princess
- fairy prion