Phrasal verb
flick through
Definition
phrasal verb. to look quickly at the pages of a book, magazine, or website without reading everything.
phrasal verb. to examine a publication or digital content cursorily by turning pages or scrolling rapidly; implies a lack of deep engagement or specific focus.
Examples
“I like to flick through magazines while I wait for the doctor.”
“She flicked through the catalog to see if any of the new summer dresses caught her eye.”
“While flicking through the dusty archives, the researcher happened upon a series of letters that changed the course of the investigation.”
Examples
simple
“I like to flick through magazines while I wait for the doctor.”
contextual
“She flicked through the catalog to see if any of the new summer dresses caught her eye.”
complex
“While flicking through the dusty archives, the researcher happened upon a series of letters that changed the course of the investigation.”
Usage
usually takes a physical or digital publication as its object.
Teaching tip
compare with 'skim' (reading for main ideas) and 'scan' (looking for specific info); 'flick through' is more casual and often done for pleasure or out of boredom.
Pitfall
I flicked the book through.
I flicked through the book.
while 'flick through' can occasionally be separated, it is almost always used as an inseparable unit when followed by a noun object.
Phrasal verb
Particles
through
Separability
optional
Pattern
flick + through + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/flick-through