click
/klɪk
/noun
1A short, sharp sound as of a switch being operated or of two hard objects coming smartly into contact: she heard the click of the door...
- A quiet growl responded to Ms. Thourne's quiet words, intermingled with a few short clicks and similar sounds.
- There was a brief pause on the opposite end of the connection, filled only with a short click and the background sounds of conversation.
- A sharp click sounded in her ears, but she was too busy to notice.
Synonyms
clink, clack, chink, snick, snap, pop, tick
1.1 Phonetics A speech sound produced as a type of plosive by sudden withdrawal of the tongue from the soft palate, front teeth, or back teeth and hard palate, occurring in some southern African and other languages.Long moans, clicks of his tongue, and the sucking of his teeth were clearly heard....
- Then the head drops and nods as the tongue clicks.
- Then we use Morse code, and our own language of clicks to communicate.
1.2 Computing An act of pressing a button on a mouse or similar device: it’s normal for a click to select an item...
- With just a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, with a computer and modem you can access more information than ever before.
- Although you can navigate with mouse clicks, the same keystrokes apply.
- There is full Internet capability, so at the click of a mouse you can login for free online events and matchmaking.
verb
1Make or cause to make a click: [no object]: the key clicked in the lock and the door opened Martha clicked her tongue (as adjective clicking) the clicking cameras outside the church...
- Then your eye will be caught by the rider hacking back at the verge weeds, or perhaps clicking away with his camera and making detailed notes in a pad.
- She was still clicking away with her booties, but she was watching Grandda with a bit of alarm.
- I could hear the keys clicking away on the other end.
Synonyms
clink, clack, chink, snick, tick;
snap, pop
1.1 Computing Select an item in a graphical user interface by pressing a button on a mouse: [no object]: you can click on an underlined word to jump to another section [with object]: click the left mouse button twice...
- Press Enter or click the mouse button to accept the current values, and the command moves on.
- To navigate Customize's tree structure, either point to a button and press Return or click on the button.
- In the Screen Saver scroll bar, click on the arrow and select My Pictures Slideshow.
1.2 (click through) Computing Press one of the buttons on a mouse in order to follow a hyperlink to another file or web page: click through to the website to buy the CD
2 [no object] informal Become suddenly clear or understandable: I wasn’t used to such good treatment, then it clicked: we were wearing suits...
- Suddenly it clicked, she could teach Summer the spell, channel her magic through her, and work the spell that way.
- Julie turned slightly to take in his profile, and suddenly it clicked.
- Calissa and Isabelle both looked puzzled at Lucy, when suddenly it clicked in Isabelle's head.
Synonyms
become clear, fall into place, come home to one, make sense, dawn, register, get through, sink in
2.1Quickly become friendly or intimate: I couldn’t help notice how pretty and intelligent she was and we just clicked I didn’t meet a woman who I really clicked with until I was 40...
- When I met Melanie I just clicked with her straight away, and I have always got on with her.
- The two high school pals clicked with ex-Watts drummer Phil Carter, and have now become an unstoppable garage rock force.
- I went on about 4 or five dates, and only met one person that I clicked with, and even then more as a friend than love interest.
Synonyms
take to each other, get along/on, warm to each other, be compatible, be in harmony, be like-minded, feel a rapport, see eye to eye
informal hit it off, get on like a house on fire, be on the same wavelength
2.2Become successful or popular: I don’t think this issue has clicked with the voters...
- I wanted my characters to look real and good and the concept clicked with the audience.
- In 1997, he launched a cooking program, mixing incendiary wit with an explanatory style that clicked with viewers.
- My companions fell for the chicken and mushroom vol-au-vents served with salad and the chilli in pitta bread clicked with our photographer.
Phrases
click one's fingers
click into place
Derivatives
clicky
- I'm not talking about a cleft lip or clicky hips, I'm talking about severe disabilities.
- Yes, it's sparse and minimal and clicky, but far from cold and empty.
- Put two anchors into your walls and then ratchet the triangular cloth until it reaches just the right tension with one of those clicky thingies.
Origin
Late 16th century (as a verb): imitative.