/ klɪk; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
to make or cause sth to make a short sharp sound :
[ v ]
The cameras clicked away.
The bolt clicked into place.
[ v - adj ]
The door clicked shut .
[ vn ]
He clicked his fingers at the waiter.
Polly clicked her tongue in annoyance.
2.
click (on sth) to choose a particular function or item on a computer screen, etc., by pressing one of the buttons on a mouse :
[ vn ]
Click the OK button to start.
[ v ]
I clicked on the link to the next page of the website.
To run a window, just double-click on the icon.
—see also double-click
3.
[ v ] ( informal ) to suddenly become clear or understood :
Suddenly it clicked —we'd been talking about different people.
It all clicked into place .
4.
[ v ] ( informal ) to become friends with sb at once; to become popular with sb :
We met at a party and clicked immediately.
He's never really clicked with his students.
5.
[ v ] ( informal ) to work well together :
The team don't seem to have clicked yet.
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- click through (to sth)
■ noun
1.
a short sharp sound :
The door closed with a click.
2.
the act of pressing the button on a computer mouse
3.
( phonetics ) a speech sound made by pressing the tongue against the top of the mouth or the part of the mouth behind the upper front teeth, then releasing it quickly, causing air to be sucked in. Clicks are found especially in southern African languages :
click languages
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (as a verb): imitative.