click

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a short light metallic sound
  2. noun a stop consonant made by the suction of air into the mouth (as in Bantu)
  3. noun a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward

Etymology

Imitative of the "click" sound; first recorded in the 1500s. Compare Saterland Frisian klikke (“to click”), Middle Dutch clicken (Modern Dutch: klikken (“to click”)), Old High German klecchen (Modern German: klecken, klicken (“to click”)), Danish klikke (“to click”), Swedish klicka (“to click”), Norwegian klikke (“to click”), Norwegian klekke (“to hatch”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

chink, clink

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