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PlainSpell

flicker

/ˈflɪkɚ/noun, verb

flicker is spelled F-L-I-C-K-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, flicker means “An unsteady flash of light” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of flicker is flickers.

How many letters and syllables are in flicker?

Letters7: F-L-I-C-K-E-R
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is flicker?

Flicker appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce flicker?

  • UK /ˈflɪkə/
  • US /ˈflɪkɚ/

Flicker has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-flicker.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-flicker.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with flicker?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as flicker from its last stressed vowel (/ɪkəɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of flicker

  • flickers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • flickering participle, present
  • flickered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does flicker mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    An unsteady flash of light.

    the flicker of the dying candle

  2. 2

    A short moment.

    a flicker of emotion

  3. 3

    USAny of certain small woodpeckers, especially of the genus Colaptes.

  4. 4

    One who flicks.

  5. 5

    colloquialEllipsis of channel flicker (“remote control”).

verb

  1. 1

    To burn or shine unsteadily, or with a wavering light.

  2. 2

    To keep going on and off; to appear and disappear for short moments; to flutter.

    A strong desire to smash up everything in the room kept flickering in his head.

  3. 3

    To flutter or flap.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Flicker in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpapillotement, scintillement (an unsteady flash of light), vaciller, papilloter (to burn or shine unsteadily), scintiller (to keep going on and off)
GermanFlackern, Flimmern (an unsteady flash of light), flackern, flimmern (to burn or shine unsteadily), Goldspecht (Small woodpecker of the genus Colaptes)
Portuguesebruxuleio (an unsteady flash of light), tremular, bruxulear (to burn or shine unsteadily), piscar (to keep going on and off), instante (a short moment)
Spanishtitileo, titilación, centelleo (an unsteady flash of light), titilar, centellear (to burn or shine unsteadily)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does flicker come from?

From Middle English flikeren (“to flutter”), from Old English flicerian, flicorian (“to flutter”), from Proto-West Germanic *flikurōn. Akin to Saterland Frisian flikkerje (“to flicker”), West Frisian flikkerje (“to flicker”), Dutch flikkeren (“to flicker, flutter”), German Low German flickern (“to light up, flash, flicker”). Compare Old English flacor (“flickering, fluttering”), German flackern (“to flicker, flutter”), Old English flēogan (“to fly”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after flicker