What does "click" mean?
A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch.
Click
/klɪk/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch.
- Grammar: click is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: mouse click, activate, be blooded, be successful.
- Useful contrasts: clash, deselect, drag.
- Usage evidence: Click: Quickly pushing the mouse's left hand side button once.
How to use "click"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "click" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "click" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "click" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "click" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "click" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "mouse click" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "click", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch.
"As I turned the key, the lock gave a click and the door opened."
- 2 Alternative spelling of klick (“kilometers; kilometers per hour”). alt-of, alternative
- 3 A detent, pawl, or ratchet, such as that which catches the cogs of a ratchet wheel to prevent backward motion.
- 4 A kind of throw.
"inside click; outside click; cross click"
- 5 Misspelling of clique. US, alt-of, misspelling
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 depression of a button on a computer mouse wordnet
- 7 The act of snapping one's fingers. British
- 8 The latch of a door. UK, dialectal
- 9 a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward wordnet
- 10 An ingressive sound made by coarticulating a velar or uvular closure with another closure.
"tsk is a click in English."
- 11 a stop consonant made by the suction of air into the mouth (as in Bantu) wordnet
- 12 The sound made by a dolphin.
- 13 a short light metallic sound wordnet
- 14 The act of operating a switch, etc., so that it clicks.
- 15 The act of pressing a button on a computer mouse or similar input device, both as a physical act and a reaction in the software.
- 16 A single instance of content on the Internet being accessed. broadly
"The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about[…]and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained."
- 17 A pawl or similar catch.
"A wheel, with teeth in which a click or pawl engages to prevent backward motion; or the same with addition of another click through which power is imparted at intervals to move the wheel."
- 18 A knock or blow. UK, obsolete, slang
"This roused the tinker's choler, already provoked at Tugwell's amorous freedom with his doxy, and he gave him a click in the mazard. Tugwell had not been used tamely to receive a kick or a cuff; he, therefore, gave the tinker a rejoinder, […]"
- 19 A limb contortion at the joint, part of vogue dancing.
- 20 A click track. informal
"But I knew I needed a click, so we put a click on the 24-track, which then was synced to the Moog Modular."
Verb
- 1 To cause to make a click; to operate (a switch, etc) so that it makes a click. transitive
"[Jove] clicked all his marble thumbs."
- 2 To snatch. obsolete
"‘I take 'em to prevent abuses,’ Cants he, and then the Crucifix And Chalice from the Altar clicks."
- 3 Misspelling of clique. US, alt-of, misspelling
- 4 become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions wordnet
- 5 To emit a click. intransitive
"Surely that picture will be fixed for ever, for I heard the cameras clicking round me like crickets in a field."
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 make a clucking sounds, characteristic of hens wordnet
- 7 To snap one's fingers. British
- 8 produce a click wordnet
- 9 To press and release (a button on a computer mouse).
- 10 cause to make a snapping sound wordnet
- 11 To select a software item using, usually, but not always, the pressing of a mouse button. transitive
- 12 move or strike with a noise wordnet
- 13 To visit (a website). transitive
"Visit a location, call, or click www.example.com."
- 14 make a clicking or ticking sound wordnet
- 15 To navigate by clicking a mouse button. intransitive
"I soon grew bored and clicked away from the site."
- 16 click repeatedly or uncontrollably wordnet
- 17 To make sense suddenly. intransitive
"Then it clicked—I had been going the wrong way all that time."
- 18 To get along well. intransitive
"When we met at the party, we just clicked and we’ve been best friends ever since."
- 19 To tick. dated, intransitive
"the varnish'd clock that click'd behind the door"
- 20 To take (a photograph) with a camera. India, transitive
"Brad immediately took out his Iphone^([sic]) and clicked a picture of the plant and posted it up on Google and clicked search."
- 21 To achieve success in one's career or a breakthrough, often the first time. India, intransitive
- 22 Of a film, to be successful at the box office. India, intransitive
Intj
- 1 The sound of a click.
"Click! The door opened."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A ghost town in Llano County, Texas, United States, named after settler Malachi Click. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Click: Quickly pushing the mouse's left hand side button once."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "click"?
Common synonyms include: mouse click, activate, be blooded, be successful, bonded, bump.
How do you use "click" in a sentence?
Click: Quickly pushing the mouse's left hand side button once.
How do you pronounce "click"?
Pronounced /klɪk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English clike, from Old French clique (“latch”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English cleken, a variant of clechen (“to grab”), perhaps from Old English *clēċan, *clǣċan, a byform of clyċċan (“to clutch”). More at clutch.