tick
noun
a slight, sharp, recurring click, tap, or beat, as of a clock.
had been ticking
-
past perfect progressiveof tick.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Many watched the verdict live Wednesday on a screen in a square in the capital, Pristina, where a countdown clock had been ticking down to the ruling for days.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
The clock for the kidney’s survival had been ticking for more than 3 hours, since Rao, the transplant surgeon, had removed it from a rat in a reenactment of that 2022 breakthrough surgery.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2023
I’d noticed that the Apple.com charges had been ticking up, but assumed my husband was buying more audiobooks and my daughter was downloading more games.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2023
But tensions had been ticking upward for months in a dispute over car license plates.
From Reuters ● Feb. 13, 2023
The clock on the mantel seemed suddenly to have waked up and to be trying by its loud ticking to fool itself into thinking that it had been ticking all the time.
From L.P.M. : the end of the Great War by J. Stewart (John Stewart) Barney
