From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishflickerflick‧er1 /ˈflɪkə $ -ər/ ●○○ verb [intransitive] 1 BURNSHINEto burn or shine with an unsteady light that goes on and off quickly The overhead lights flickered momentarily.► see thesaurus at shine2 [always + adverb/preposition]SHOW A FEELING OR ATTITUDE if an emotion or expression flickers on someone’s face or through their mind, it exists or is shown for only a short timeflicker across/through/on etc A puzzled smile flickered across the woman’s face.3 SHAKEto quickly make a sudden small movement or series of movements Polly’s eyelids flickered, then she slept.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
flicker• The candle flickered a few times and then went out.• The overhead lights suddenly flickered and went out.• Penny's eyelids flickered for a moment, then she slept.• She allowed her steady gaze to flicker from the glass which she had been holding firm.• The lights flickered; I wondered if we were about to lose our power.• By night, faery lights flicker in the darkness, drifting behind the Everqueen's courtiers and illuminating the revels and feasting.• A welcoming fire flickered in the grate.• Months at sea had rusted their connections so they flickered irritatingly.• Inside the shrine candles flicker next to statues of saints.• Suddenly, an hour after the opening bell, the computers at the New York Stock Exchange flicker off.• He told me the story, sitting in my room with the firelight flickering on the ceiling rafters.• His flat-tax fire, which burned hot for months, ultimately flickered out along with his popularity.• His eyes flickered over her shoulders.• The stream flickered slightly in the moonlight.flicker across/through/on etc• Its light flickered on and off for a moment, as if it was making itself comfortable in a mechanical kind of way.• The lights began to flicker on and off.• The lights flickered on before Graham could do more than put his arms round her.• Shadows were flickering across the blue glow inside the airlock.• Across the room, the glow from the fireplace flickered on the highly polished floor.• Pines, too, provide filtered shade as sunlight flickers through the needles.• Lights flicker on throughout the house at the touch of a single button.flickerflicker2 noun [countable] 1 SHINEan unsteady light that goes on and off quicklyflicker of the flicker of the firelight2 → a flicker of emotion/uncertainty/excitement etc3 SHAKEa quick sudden movement or series of movementsExamples from the Corpus
flicker• I really have never felt even a flicker of emotion when I sang the National Anthem.• Only once did he show a flicker of being a person.• Bruce Law walks through a desert hell, looking for saguaros that still show a flicker of life at McDowell Mountain Park.• Nothing could get out - or in, she registered with a flicker of hope.• The heretofore brilliant, often blinding light of classical culture was gradually reduced to a pitiful flicker.• Saying it helped to quell that flicker of excitement.Origin flicker1 Old English flicorian 