Home UK English click

Meaning of click in English:

click

Pronunciation /klɪk/

See synonyms for click

Translate click into Spanish

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.’
    • ‘I heard the click of a switch as the light went off next door, plunging the awaiting table into darkness.’
    • ‘A door opens softly and I hear the click sound of the door closing.’
    • ‘Stepping through it into the apartment, I froze as I suddenly heard the sharp click of a gun hammer being pulled back.’
    • ‘Sure enough, they all heard a sharp click, and Paul opened the door.’
    • ‘She heard the click and slight whirring sound as Raider snapped pictures of her.’
    • ‘A muffled click sounded behind the door, and I heard the man chuckle softly.’
    • ‘He heard then the hard click of boots on stone, and soon a man dressed in plain black pants, boots, and jacket stood before him.’
    • ‘He heard the distinctive click when she switched off the answering machine.’
    • ‘He heard a sharp click and in an instant Kitty loaded her cricket gun and was aiming strait at Darien.’
    • ‘She slammed the serrated edge into a hidden spot on the parasol and heard a sharp click.’
    • ‘After a minute of strained concentration, a small click sounded and the door swung open, revealing a very long set of marble stairs.’
    • ‘She heard an angry voice swear outside the dumpster, then she heard a click and something that sounded unmistakably like dial tones on a phone.’
    • ‘The only sound was the quiet click of the doors to the room locking.’
    • ‘And with that he left, the soft click of the door sounding to her ears like the lock of a prison gate slamming home.’
    • ‘She heard the click of the closing door and then the sound of the latch falling into place, but still she did not move.’
    • ‘I heard the door click and a few footsteps and then suddenly, the left side of my bed sank.’
    • ‘At times, sharp clicks and bubbles of noise will suddenly bulge to the top before disappearing back into the fray.’
    clink, clack, chink, snick, snap, pop, tick
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1Phonetics 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.’
      • ‘Ars began talking to Mersech in a strange tongue of clicks and whistles.’
      • ‘She cut off each word with a threatening click of her teeth.’

  • 2An act of selecting an option on an electronic interface by pressing a button or touching a screen.

    ‘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.’
    • ‘Today a large part of human knowledge lies at our disposal in our own living rooms or is just a mouse click away on a laptop computer.’
    • ‘With two clicks of the mouse button you can export your screen recording to the Macromedia Flash format.’

verb

  • 1Make or cause to make a short, sharp sound as of a switch being operated or of two hard objects coming smartly into contact.

    no object ‘the key clicked in the lock and the door opened’
    • ‘Martha clicked her tongue’
    • ‘she clicked off the light’
    • ‘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.’
    • ‘I heard the camera clicking and zooming again, but that soon faded away.’
    • ‘As soon I was out of room, I heard cameras clicking and people were talking at once.’
    • ‘Before dawn broke, the bar on my cell door slipped away, and the key clicked in the lock.’
    • ‘The rider responded, clicking his tongue and snapping the reigns.’
    • ‘Not only were photoflashes going off and cameras clicking every few minutes, there was also an interviewer with a microphone, to test the talents of the little ones.’
    • ‘There is a National competition for best photograph of a family, pet or farm animal, so now is the time get those cameras out and get clicking.’
    • ‘See the full list of speed camera locations by clicking on the link below.’
    • ‘The heavy hinged wood was slammed and a light clicking noise was audible as the door was locked from outside.’
    • ‘Cixi clicked her tongue and finished lighting the last candle, and then sat down on the bed next to her brother.’
    • ‘Tracy was busy sketching a diagram of Sed's room, while I was clicking my tongue every time the clock's second hand ticked to amuse myself.’
    • ‘A cultural icon, the structure is continually surrounded by tourists, their cameras clicking away.’
    • ‘Moni-chan ran in before them, dashing up the steps, key chains clicking.’
    • ‘A blonde lanky man stopped her, clicking on his camera as she stared at him.’
    • ‘There was the sound of the phone clicking, and then Aunt Emily strode back into the kitchen.’
    • ‘The line clicked, sounding more like a guillotine to Morales.’
    • ‘Once infected, the device can move about and click at will, completely taking over your computer.’
    • ‘The sound of the keyboard clicking furiously drifted over the phone again as he worked.’
    clink, clack, chink, snick, tick
    View synonyms

  • 2Select (an option on an electronic interface) by pressing a button or touching a screen.

    with object ‘click the left mouse button twice’
    • ‘ click on the illustration for a larger version’
    • ‘you can click on an underlined word to jump to another section’
    • ‘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.’
    • ‘The icon box can be resized by holding down the ALT key and clicking the middle mouse button - not intuitive, but easy enough once you know what to do.’
    • ‘You will be able to bring up the scoreboard, click to bring up a mouse cursor, and click on the name of the player you want to mute.’
    • ‘In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option.’
    • ‘You'll require Windows Media Player, I'm told, and you just go to this web page, click on the radio button.’
    • ‘A user called up and wanted to know why he couldn't use his mouse to click on Revive Mouse.’
    • ‘You use the mouse to click on targets for attack or to pick up items that fall to the ground.’
    • ‘When the laptop had booted up, he used the mouse to click on a few icons on the desktop before he found the History folder.’
    • ‘In IE, go to Internet Options and click on the Delete Files button in the General Tab.’
    • ‘If you don't see the Picture Tasks menu in the left window, click on the Folders button at the top.’
    • ‘When we click on download it says it will hurt our files.’
    • ‘When the fonts are visible in the window, click on ‘Select All’ and then ‘OK’.’
    • ‘To reply to the original posting, click on the Reply button that immediately follows the article.’
    • ‘They need no gamesplaying skill other than pointing a mouse, clicking a button and the ability to think logically.’
    • ‘Mr Lee was so stressed that his hands were shaking during the competition and he missed clicking the mouse button several times.’
    • ‘This is great for mums and grandpas who are more comfortable with pushing buttons than clicking mice.’
    • ‘Once you click on the restore button, you're off to the races.’
    • ‘You must click on a connect button inside that window and wait to complete the process, less than 20 seconds in my experience.’
    1. 2.1click throughSelect an option on an electronic interface in order to reach another file, website, or web page.
      • ‘ click through to the website to buy the CD’

  • 3informal no object 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.’
    • ‘Suddenly it clicked and my eyes widened with embarrassment as I looked down at him.’
    • ‘Rick blinked, not understanding for the briefest of moments, until it clicked and his eyes widened in shock.’
    • ‘Then it clicked and it was as if a light bulb had suddenly flashed on in my head.’
    • ‘And it clicked; who else could they be talking about?’
    • ‘That's when it clicked to me what I could possibly do today.’
    • ‘And it clicked straight away that Simon thought he was disfigured.’
    • ‘At first Mark didn't know what he meant, but then it clicked.’
    • ‘I looked up at the guy and it clicked that I was in his arms.’
    • ‘I thought for a second about what she could be talking about, and then it clicked - Nathaniel's father's play.’
    • ‘Then it clicked, she knew who Gregory was even though he wasn't using ‘Gregory’ as his name.’
    • ‘Emilyn went over the conversation and then it clicked.’
    • ‘The gears in Val's mind began to whirl until it clicked.’
    • ‘Then it clicked and she recognised the blonde hair and tall body.’
    • ‘Xander just looked at her and then it clicked what she had said.’
    • ‘I saw the student check his stride as he saw me, standing next to Sauda, and it clicked in my brain: Imran.’
    • ‘It took me a half an hour on the net before it clicked that I was supposed to update today!’
    • ‘Our eyes never left one another's and soon it clicked in my head what he was going to do.’
    become clear, fall into place, come home to one, make sense, dawn, register, get through, sink in
    View synonyms
    1. 3.1Quickly 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.’
      • ‘Despite his victories, the governor never really clicked with many constituents.’
      • ‘I soon clicked with the old shop owners who used to trade in the Transkei.’
      • ‘Melodic was the first label to get back to me, and I had nothing to lose, liked the set-up and clicked with the guy that ran it.’
      • ‘They clicked with one another immediately, because they recognized in each other intelligence, lucidity and vitality.’
      • ‘One person clicked with me the moment we started talking.’
      • ‘Jaycee couldn't believe how well the guys clicked with everyone.’
      • ‘Kariya, who arrived in Orange County in 1994, immediately clicked with Selanne.’
      • ‘Herbert says Zanardi never clicked with the Williams team, that the two sides lost confidence in each other.’
      • ‘It took me several attempts at character creation to come up with an alter-ego that I really clicked with.’
      • ‘Adric rubbed people the wrong way and never clicked with the audience.’
      • ‘I had simply never clicked with anyone like that in nearly 20 years of searching and trying.’
      • ‘I have tried to date new people in the last month or two, but I haven't clicked with anyone.’
      • ‘The fact that he clicked with this girl so quickly and completely continued to astonish him.’
      • ‘It was not like this school was really small - there had to be someone she clicked with.’
      • ‘While I was there, I made friends and we just clicked and created a special bond that lasts up to now.’
      • ‘Lee came from America when he was fifteen and we instantly clicked as friends.’
      • ‘They were alike in many ways, but somehow the two popular seniors never really clicked.’
      take to each other, get along, get on, warm to each other, be compatible, be in harmony, be like-minded, feel a rapport, see eye to eye
      View synonyms
    2. 3.2Become 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.’
      • ‘They clicked with people; there was a sense that getting on their bandwagon sooner than later would keep you from falling out of the loop.’
      • ‘In 1967, it reappeared on Saturday mornings, where it finally clicked with a nation of kids high on sugary cereal.’
      • ‘Such features have clicked with buyers, who see the Zafira as an affordable alternative to large sedans.’
      • ‘In place of the legends are a group of lesser-knowns who shoot low scores but haven't clicked with fans.’
      • ‘Overall, Hello Kitty and Friends does not seem to click for any single audience.’

Phrases

    click into place

    • Become suddenly clear and understandable.

      ‘given this info, everything soon clicks into place’
      • ‘As soon as we saw each other everything clicked into place.’
      • ‘With the acquisition of the controlling stake in the major US satellite group DirecTV, everything was clicking into place.’
      • ‘While everything seems to be clicking into place, there is however, one burning question.’
      • ‘The 35-year-old missed six weeks before returning against Lancashire last week and at once everything seemed to click into place.’
      • ‘I twitched and I felt myself close my eyes for a brief second, everything clicking into place in my head.’

Origin

Late 16th century (as a verb): imitative.