double-click

American  

[duhb-uhl-klik] / ˈdʌb əlˈklɪk /

verb (used without object)

• double-clicks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• double-clicked,
  past participle,  past
• double-clicking
  present participle

1. to click a mouse button twice in rapid succession, as to open a program or select a file.

   Double-click on the desktop icon.

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verb (used with object)

• double-clicks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• double-clicked,
  past participle,  past
• double-clicking
  present participle

1. to double-click (a mouse button) or double-click (a program, file, etc.)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• double click
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• double-clicking
  present
• double-clicked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• double-click
  simple
• double-clicks
  simple
• have double-clicked
  perfect
• has double-clicked
  perfect
• am double-clicking
  progressive
• are double-clicking
  progressive
• is double-clicking
  progressive
• have been double-clicking
  perfect progressive
• has been double-clicking
  perfect progressive

Past

• double-clicked
  simple
• had double-clicked
  perfect
• was double-clicking
  progressive
• were double-clicking
  progressive
• had been double-clicking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will double-click
  simple
• will have double-clicked
  perfect
• will be double-clicking
  progressive
• will have been double-clicking
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of double-click

First recorded in 1980–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

double-click double-clicks double-clicked double-clicking

Put a pin in that: This, along with “Let’s double-click on that,” is just silly speak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

Or is it only when I double-click and the email pops open?

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2022

Type “services.msc in the “Run” box Scroll down to Windows Update and double-click on it.

From The Verge ● Apr. 16, 2022

The next red flag: I watched my son scroll through Instagram and double-click on an image, lighting up a heart that signifies a “like.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2019

Now I double-click on the first photos and enlarge them to full screen.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu

Darren double-clicks his key fob to unlock the car doors.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

“I memorized every single vehicle in those videos,” he said, a note of pride in his voice as he double-clicked on a file and pointed at the Voxy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

The top brings you home or can be double-clicked to quickly switch to the previously used app.

From The Verge ● Aug. 18, 2021

Then he returned to the target’s computer and double-clicked on it, just as Lagunes had clicked on the link in her inbox.

From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2017

What good is an unwieldy paper wall map that can’t be pinched, zoomed, or double-clicked?

From Slate ● Jan. 2, 2012

From there it sped westward with the sun, lying silently in wait in corporate e-mail accounts until unsuspecting office denizens punched in, logged on and double-clicked on the file.

From Time Magazine Archive

Apple Pay is popular among Gen Z and makes it easy to pay by double-clicking the side of their phone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

Edits like adding vibrato are as easy as double-clicking.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2023

I don't know if that's really any better than just double-clicking the home button, but it's there if you want it.

From The Verge ● Sep. 22, 2015

Q. I understand that double-tapping an icon on a Windows 8.1 touch-screen computer is the same as double-clicking with the mouse, but how do you right-click an icon with no actual mouse buttons?

From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2014

"Why don't you read it online?" he said, reaching over my shoulder and double-clicking on the title, frowning when that merely led to another information page: "How do you get to read the actual book?"

From The Public Domain Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by James Boyle

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