flicker
An unsteady flash of lightAn unsteady flash of light.
» Can you see that flickering light?
marco87 · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
4 senses(countable, uncountable)An unsteady flash of light.
the flicker of the dying candle
the flicker of an old movie
Flackern, Flimmern
мерца́ниеmercánije, вспы́шкаvspýška
мерехті́нняmerextínnja
a momentary flash of light
(countable, figuratively, uncountable)A short moment.
a flicker of emotion
a flicker of hope
мгнове́ниеmgnovénije, мигmig
(US)Any of certain small woodpeckers, especially of the genus Colaptes.
Goldspecht
дя́телdjátel
One who flicks.
Examples
54 sentencesCan you see that flickering light?
The fluorescent light was faulty and flickered on and off intermittently.
deDie Leuchtstofflampe war defekt und flackerte stoßweise an und wieder aus. — Yorwba
The lights started to flicker again.
The flashlights flickered on and off.
The candle flickered in the dark.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 3
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English flikeren (“to flutter”), from Old English flicerian, flicorian (“to flFrom Middle English flikeren (“to flutter”), from Old English flicerian, flicorian (“to flutter”), from Proto-West Germanic *flikurōn.
1808, American English, probably echoic of the bird's call, or from the white spotted plumage which appears to flicker. It is also true that the bird vigorously flicks away treebark, woodchips, and ground detritus while feeding, which may possibly explain the name.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: flickersSynonyms
4 synonymsWord family
14 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.