notch
Americannoun
-
notches
plural
-
an angular or V -shaped cut, indentation, or slit in an object, surface, or edge.
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a cut or nick made in a stick or other object for record, as in keeping a tally.
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New England and Upstate New York. a deep, narrow opening or pass between mountains; gap; defile.
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Informal. a step, degree, or grade.
This camera is a notch better than the other.
-
Metallurgy. a taphole in a blast furnace.
iron notch; cinder notch.
verb (used with object)
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notches,
present (3rd person singular)
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notched,
past participle, past
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notching
present participle
-
to cut or make a notch in.
-
to record by notches.
He notched each kill on the stick.
-
to score, as in a game.
He notched another win.
idioms
noun
-
a V-shaped cut or indentation; nick
-
a cut or nick made in a tally stick or similar object
-
a narrow pass or gorge
-
informal a step or level (esp in the phrase a notch above )
verb
-
to cut or make a notch in
-
to record with or as if with a notch
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informal (usually foll by up) to score or achieve
the team notched up its fourth win
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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notchsimple
-
notchessimple
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have notchedperfect
-
has notchedperfect
-
am notchingprogressive
-
are notchingprogressive
-
is notchingprogressive
-
have been notchingperfect progressive
-
has been notchingperfect progressive
Past
-
notchedsimple
-
had notchedperfect
-
was notchingprogressive
-
were notchingprogressive
-
had been notchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of notch
1570–80; a notch (by false division) for an *otch < Old French oche notch
Explanation
A notch is a small cut or nick in something. People make notches to keep track of things. If you've even seen a little U-shaped or V-shaped cut in something, you've seen a notch. In prison, criminals will make notches on the wall to keep track of how long they've been there. If you're stranded on a desert island, you might make notches on a tree. When you make a notch, you're notching. A notch is also part of a mountain range that is lower than the peaks around it — also called a mountain pass.
Vocabulary lists containing notch
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Canadian manufacturing activity softened again last month, with the industry continuing to notch a lift in production in the face of a fall in new orders and a spike in cost inflation, data showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
In total, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to notch a 29.5% increase in their earnings, according to FactSet.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026
The fear is dialled up an extra notch by Byron Bullock's rich sound design, with the music swelling almost unbearably intensely when spluttering nasties stumbled closer.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
This week we learned they have once again taken things up a notch.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026
With his right hand he reached for the notch above his head, and dug deep with the jagged edge of the antler.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The authors estimated that private ratings are effectively two to three notches more favorable than public ratings with comparable impairment risk.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
There would be no steamrolling at this stage of the competition, a level several notches above anything that had come before.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Even more striking, in more than 500 wild primates, across 27 species both living and fossil, we found no trace of a common modern dental disease: deep, V-shaped gumline notches called abfraction lesions.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
Four-year notches on a timeline from wide-eyed kid to tuned-in teen and beyond.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
She climbed down the notches she had made in the lucky-bean trees, and went back to the boat.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
The conglomerate’s B shares have notched nine straight days of gains.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Leaping high, six yards out, to nod in Tommy Conway's cross from the left wing, Will Lankshear notched his ninth goal in 12 games for Middlesbrough.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
And the 10-year Treasury yield, a rough proxy for interest rates on many types of loans, this week notched its highest level in 24 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Luis Suarez, meanwhile, boasts the third-highest score ever and, as the Fantasy Football Scout points out, he notched a record 55 attacking returns in 2013-14 despite missing the first five games.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Papa notched the old snag so it would fall away from our fire.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
University endowments are notching their strongest returns in five years thanks in part to gains from SpaceX and other AI bets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Treasury yield ended the past three months with its largest quarterly gain since 1994, notching a rise of nearly 0.9 percentage points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
For 23 years, Carey's own One Sweet Day, a duet with Boyz II Men, held the title, notching up 16 weeks at number one.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
In terms of average temperatures over that 60-day period, the picture was mixed, he said, with some areas falling in the middle of the pack compared with previous years and others notching notable heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Laistrygonian archers assembled on the deck above us, notching arrows in their enormous bows.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
