Meaning & use
flick on
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Meaning
verbtransitive
To turn on a light, device, or switch with a quick, light movement.
Grammar: Takes an object: flick on the lamp. The object can go after 'on' or between 'flick' and 'on'.
Patterns
- flick on something
- flick something on
- flick on the light
- flick the switch on
She flicked on the kitchen light and started cooking.
He flicked on the radio to hear the news.
Just flick the switch on when you come in.
Word forms
| third person singular | flicks on |
|---|---|
| past tense | flicked on |
| past participle | flicked on |
| -ing form | flicking on |
Common combinations
- flick on the light
- I flicked on the light to find my keys.
- flick on the TV
- He flicked on the TV as soon as he sat down.
- flick the switch on
- She flicked the switch on and the machine started.
- flick on a lamp
- Could you flick on a lamp? It's getting dark.
Synonyms and how they differ
- turn on
- Turn on is the general, neutral phrase; flick on adds the idea of a quick, light touch.
- switch on
- Switch on is close in meaning but sounds a little more deliberate and less quick than flick on.
- flip on
- Flip on is very similar and also informal, often used with switches and small devices.
Opposites
Word family
- flick verb
- To move something with a quick, light movement.
- flick off phrasal verb
- To turn off a light or device with a quick movement.
Commonly confused: flick on or flick through? flick on or click on?
flick on vs flick through
Flick through means to look quickly through a book or pages, not to turn on a device.
flick on vs click on
Click on is used for computers and means pressing a mouse button, not switching on a light.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'flick on' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Flick on' takes an object directly: flick on the lamp. 'Flick the lamp on' is also possible, but option 2 puts 'on' after the object in a way that is less natural here; options 3 and 4 mix in 'off' and 'to' wrongly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flick on”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.