flick

/flɪk/

//flɪk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"flick" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“flick” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,423. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,423
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.

Corpus desk

Index EN-flick · flick · English

flick · rank #12,423 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,423
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fowler

Nearest frequency peer: fowler (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “flick”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “flick” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

flick vs fuck
60% similar
flick vs flip
60% similar
flick vs flies
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for flick
PropertyValue
Headwordflick
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/flɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#12,423
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “flick”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).flicklands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “fowler” (#12,424), “Fiona” (#12,421), “funky” (#12,425). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “flick” is #12,423. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around flick (IPA /flɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,423 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for flick, with forms such as "fflick", "filck", and "flcik". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fuck", "flip", "flies", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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" r… The correct English form is flick, spelled F-L-I-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
  2. 2
    A motion picture, movie, film; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.
  3. 3
    A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.
  4. 4
    A powerful underarm volley shot.
  5. 5
    The act of pressing a place on a touch screen device.
  6. 6
    A flitch.
  7. 7
    A unit of time, equal to 1/705,600,000 of a second
  8. 8
    A chap or fellow; sometimes as a friendly term of address.
  9. 9
    A photo.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flick appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He removed the speck of dust with a flick of his finger.
  2. She gave a disdainful flick of her hair and marched out of the room.

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

fillipthe picture

This word in other languages

tincazo(Español)pichenette(Français)schnipsen(Deutsch)piparote(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fflick
  • filck
  • flcik
  • flicck
  • flickk
  • flikc
  • fllick
  • lfick

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flick - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fflick1filck2flcik2flicck1flickk1flikc2fllick1lfick2
Edit distance from "flick"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flick"?
"flick" is spelled F-L-I-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /flɪk/.
What does "flick" mean?
As a noun, "flick" means: A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
What words are commonly confused with "flick"?
"flick" is commonly confused with "fuck", "flip", "flies". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flick"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flick" is /flɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "flick"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flick", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fiona#12,421funky#12,425groom#12,430Hamas#12,434

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

fowler8 variantsHarriet8 variantsHelena8 variantsdicks8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list