klick
/klɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.89 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Alternative spelling of click (mostly as an interjection)
noun
Acronym of keratosis linearis with ichthyosis congenita and sclerosing keratoderma.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Several klicks closer, the ruins of the City of Poets rose jaggedly against the skyline."
- "an asteroid between one and three kilometers wide had slammed into the ground at fifteen klicks per second."
- "Chief, can you hear me?...(static) My bird's down. Half a klick -(static)- downriver from your position."
- "No siree, Bob, we are the only ship in three million clicks."
Etymology
* Most likely a pseudo-condensed pronunciation of kilometer, being a suitably short word emphasizing k+l instead of /keɪ/ alone (the same principle as with military spelling alphabets, but also clearly distinguished from kilo (/kiːloʊ/) for kilogram). * Possibly onomatopoeic of the sound of a military odometer. When a soldier would complete a mark, they would signal to their commander and denote movement of 1,000 meters by hoisting up their rifle and moving the gas regulator with their thumb, which made a "click" the commander could hear.