tick

¹

[tik]

noun

1. a slight, sharp, recurring click, tap, or beat, as of a clock.

2. Chiefly British Informal.,  a moment or instant.

3. a small dot, mark, check, or electronic signal, as used to mark off an item on a list, serve as a reminder, or call attention to something.

4. Stock Exchange.

   1. a movement in the price of a stock, bond, or option.

   2. the smallest possible tick on a given exchange.

5. Manège.,  a jumping fault consisting of a light touch of a fence with one or more feet.

6. a small contrasting spot of color on the coat of a mammal or the feathers of a bird.

verb (used without object)

1. to emit or produce a tick, like that of a clock.

2. to pass as with ticks of a clock.

   The hours ticked by.

verb (used with object)

1. to sound or announce by a tick or ticks.

   The clock ticked the minutes.

2. to mark with a tick or ticks; check (usually followed byoff ); to tick off the items on the memo.

verb phrase

1. tick off

   1. to make angry.

      His mistreatment of the animals really ticked me off.

   2. Chiefly British.,  to scold severely.

      The manager will tick you off if you make another mistake.

tick

²

[tik]

noun

1. any of numerous bloodsucking arachnids of the order Acarina, including the families Ixodidae and Argasidae, somewhat larger than the related mites and having a barbed proboscis for attachment to the skin of warm-blooded vertebrates: some ticks, as the deer tick, are vectors of disease.

2. sheeptick.

tick

³

[tik]

noun

1. the cloth case of a mattress, pillow, etc., containing hair, feathers, or the like.

2. ticking.

tick

⁴

[tik]

noun

1. a score or account.

tick

¹

/ tɪk /

noun

1. a recurrent metallic tapping or clicking sound, such as that made by a clock or watch

2. informal,  a moment or instant

3. a mark ( ) or dash used to check off or indicate the correctness of something

4. commerce the smallest increment of a price fluctuation in a commodity exchange. Tick size is usually 0.01% of the nominal value of the trading unit

verb

1. to produce a recurrent tapping sound or indicate by such a sound

   the clock ticked the minutes away

2. to mark or check (something, such as a list) with a tick

3. informal,  the basic drive or motivation of a person

tick

²

/ tɪk /

noun

1. any of various small parasitic arachnids of the families Ixodidae ( hard ticks ) and Argasidae ( soft ticks ), typically living on the skin of warm-blooded animals and feeding on the blood and tissues of their hosts: order Acarina (mites and ticks) See also sheep tick

2. any of certain other arachnids of the order Acarina

3. any of certain insects of the dipterous family Hippoboscidae that are ectoparasitic on horses, cattle, sheep, etc, esp the sheep ked

tick

³

/ tɪk /

noun

1. informal,  account or credit (esp in the phrase on tick )

tick

⁴

/ tɪk /

noun

1. the strong covering of a pillow, mattress, etc

2. informal,  short for ticking

tick

1. Any of numerous small, parasitic arachnids of the suborder Ixodida that feed on the blood of animals. Like their close relatives the mites and unlike spiders, ticks have no division between cephalothorax and abdomen. Ticks differ from mites by being generally larger and having a sensory pit at the end of their first pair of legs. Many ticks transmit febrile diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tick¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English tek “little touch”; akin to Dutch tik “a touch, pat,” Norwegian tikka “to touch or shove slightly”; tickle

Origin of tick²

First recorded before 900; Middle English teke, tyke, Old English ticia, perhaps spelling error for tiica (i.e. tīca ) or ticca; akin to Low German tieke, German Zecke

Origin of tick³

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English tikke, teke, tyke (cognate with Dutch tijk, German Zieche ), ultimately derived from Latin tēca, thēca, from Greek thḗkē “case”

Origin of tick⁴

First recorded in 1635–45; short for ticket

Word History and Origins

Origin of tick¹

C13: from Low German tikk touch; related to Old High German zekōn to pluck, Norwegian tikke to touch

Origin of tick²

Old English ticca; related to Middle High German zeche tick, Middle Irish dega stag beetle

Origin of tick³

C17: shortened from _ticket

Origin of tick⁴

C15: probably from Middle Dutch tīke; related to Old High German ziecha pillow cover, Latin tēca case, Greek thēkē

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. what makes one tick, the motive or explanation of one's behavior.

   The biographer failed to show what made Herbert Hoover tick.

2. on tick, on credit or trust.

   We bought our telly on tick.

More idioms and phrases containing tick

• clock is ticking
• tight as a tick
• what makes one tick

Example Sentences

Claims for unemployment payments also ticked up this week, while Friday's report put the unemployment rate at the highest level since October 2021, although it is still not far from historic lows.

From BBC

Some sort of conference to formalise the movement is expected later this year, though the clock is ticking when it comes to next May's Holyrood vote.

From BBC

With time ticking down on his illustrious career, there is less room for error in his pursuit of a standalone record 25th major title.

From BBC

But while this one ticks those same boxes, viewers who struggled with his earlier films might find Bugonia more accessible.

From BBC

Three boxes ticked so far: humbling, hammering, and refereeing controversy.

From BBC