flick-knife
noun
Simple meaning
A type of knife which has the blade mounted on a pivot so that it can fold back sideways into the handle when not in use.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fliknyfSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflɪknaɪf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
british
A type of knife which has the blade mounted on a pivot so that it can fold back sideways into the handle when not in use, but can flick out straight, usually with a spring-loaded mechanism, when required.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: A type of knife which has the blade mounted on a pivot so that it can fold back sideways into the handle when not in use, but can flick out straight, usually with a spring-loaded mechanism, when required.
Used this way, flick-knife is a word tied to one variety of English that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. Most speakers understand it but seldom reach for it.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Regional
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Uncommon in everyday speech
Usage note
Mainly used in British English, so it may read as unusual elsewhere.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.