tick

¹ American  

[tik] / tɪk /

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.

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verb (used without object)

• ticks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ticked,
  past participle,  past
• ticking
  present participle

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)

• ticks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ticked,
  past participle,  past
• ticking
  present participle

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.

idioms

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

   The biographer failed to show what made Herbert Hoover tick.

tick ² American  

[tik] / tɪk /

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.

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tick ³ American  

[tik] / tɪk /

noun

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

2. ticking.

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tick ⁴ American  

[tik] / tɪk /

noun

1. a score or account.

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idioms

1. on tick, on credit or trust.

   We bought our telly on tick.

tick ¹ British  

/ tɪk /

noun

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

2. informal short for ticking

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tick ² British  

/ 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

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tick ³ British  

/ 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

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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 ⁴ British  

/ tɪk /

noun

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

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tick Scientific  

/ tĭk /

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.

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tick More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tick

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ticking
  present
• ticked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tick
  simple
• ticks
  simple
• have ticked
  perfect
• has ticked
  perfect
• am ticking
  progressive
• are ticking
  progressive
• is ticking
  progressive
• have been ticking
  perfect progressive
• has been ticking
  perfect progressive

Past

• ticked
  simple
• had ticked
  perfect
• was ticking
  progressive
• were ticking
  progressive
• had been ticking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tick
  simple
• will have ticked
  perfect
• will be ticking
  progressive
• will have been ticking
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

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”; see 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

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Explanation

To tick is to make a steady tapping sound. When something ticks — be it a clock, a watch, an oven timer, or a metronome — it’s usually a reminder that time is passing. The verb tick originally meant "to touch or pat." The current meaning may be related to the sound of a hand patting or tapping a surface. Another kind of tick is a small blood-sucking parasite. This nastier tick has a different root, the Old English ticia.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tick ticks ticked ticking

The percentage of nurses leaving their jobs every year began to tick up even before Covid, when it spiked further.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

He warned "a significant number" of family members "will be watching the clock quickly tick down to a year, as the maladministration of the scheme enters its tenth month".

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

"For high-precision measurements, you therefore need a mechanism to keep the laser frequency exactly stable, so that the clock continues to tick with precisely the same rhythm."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

"Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from half-time onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn't called on," Ronaldo said.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Maybe I’m filling up with blood and I’m going to burst like a tick.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

And, last week, President Trump signed an executive order to eliminate invasive ticks and mosquitoes across D.C.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

At least nine companies sell pricey pesticide treatments or natural oil sprays for the backyard that are supposed to repel deer, or ticks, sparking an angry debate over whether they also endanger pets and pollinators.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

A proposed Roomba-like device to suck ticks out of the grass probably does not.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

America’s favorite clock-counting controversy ticks on as the Mid-American Conference lodges an official appeal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

As Matthew Stirling and his team were dodging ticks and unearthing stelae in Tres Zapotes, they found a cache of fifteen upside-down pottery bowls tucked into the ground six feet below the surface.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Total cost of revenues grew 25%, while general and administrative expenses ticked up 2.8% on higher professional-services fees and employee-related costs, Dine Brands said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Government bonds yields ticked lower Wednesday, with the 10-year Treasury yield dropping to 4.92% from 4.95% a day earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Meanwhile, sales across its U.S. coffee business ticked up 2.7% to $1 billion, as volume and mix growth of 6.9% was partially offset by unfavorable net price realization of 4.2%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Or maybe it was the unusual signal boost he got from a fellow government official as she ticked off her personal prepper wish list on a radio show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

“Y’all got every right to be mad at him. Downright ticked off, if you ask me. But this ain’t just ’bout helping him.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

With the clock ticking on his time in office, the governor said he also doesn’t want to leave with regrets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

Nelson is lost amid a series of avalanches, and the clock starts ticking.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026

Joao Gomes: Mucked in alongside Kamara by keeping the ball ticking and contributing three interceptions.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

While Meta didn’t share any information on capital expenditures for 2027, spending is likely to continue ticking upward.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

She sat in the small rocking chair by her bedside and rocked in time to the ticking clock.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

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