flickered; flickering
ˈfli-k(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to move irregularly or unsteadily : flutter
Shadows flickered on the wall.
2
: to burn or shine fitfully or with a fluctuating light
a candle flickering in the window
3
: to appear or pass briefly or quickly
Thoughts flickered through his mind.
A smile flickered across her face.
1
a
: an act of flickering
b
: a sudden brief movement
the flicker of an eyelash
c
: a momentary quickening
a flicker of anger
d
: a slight indication : hint
a flicker of recognition
2
a
: a wavering light
the flicker of a candle
b
: a repeated momentary defect in a cathode-ray tube image caused especially by slow scanning of the screen
3
dated, informal
: movie
—often used in plural
: a large barred and spotted North American woodpecker (Colaptes auratus) with a brown back that commonly forages on the ground for ants compare red-shafted flicker, yellow-shafted flicker
Examples of flicker in a Sentence
Verb
A TV was flickering in the background.
The overhead light kept flickering off and on.
Thoughts flickered through his mind.
A smile flickered across her face.
Noun (1)
as a child, the future director would spend hours sitting in the theater, totally entranced by the flickers
usually there's a flicker in car sales when the new models come out
there was a flicker of recognition in her eye when I mentioned his name, but she denied knowing him
Recent Examples on the Web
Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Today, guests say the laughter hasn’t faded entirely, with reports of footsteps, flickering lights and phantom chatter ringing through the halls.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Brandi D. Addison, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Oct. 2025
For example, a TV screen that looks smooth to us might seem to flicker to a dog, Furlong explains.
—Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flicker
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Verb
Guests report nurses walking through the halls pushing wheelchairs, dark figures, cold spots, smells like cherry tobacco without a source, flickering lights and visitors feeling ill in certain areas of the hotel such as the old hospital wings and the morgue (now the site of the spa).
—Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Today, guests say the laughter hasn’t faded entirely, with reports of footsteps, flickering lights and phantom chatter ringing through the halls.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
Jack-o’-lanterns flicker on doorsteps, skeletons hang from porches and children test out their costumes before the big night.
—Brandi D. Addison, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Oct. 2025
For example, a TV screen that looks smooth to us might seem to flicker to a dog, Furlong explains.
—Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flicker
Cite this Entry
“Flicker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flicker. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flicker
2 of 3 noun1
: an act of flickering
2
: a brief stirring
a flicker of interest
3
: a flickering light
flicker
3 of 3 noun
: a large insect-eating North American woodpecker with a black crescent on the breast and yellow or red on the underside of the wings and tail compare red-shafted flicker, yellow-shafted flicker
Medical Definition
flicker
noun
flick·er
ˈflik-ər
: the wavering or fluttering visual sensation produced by intermittent light when the interval between flashes is not small enough to produce complete fusion of the individual impressions
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