Jump To:

• nick
  nick

  noun

  a small notch, groove, chip, or the like, cut into or existing in something.
• Nick
  Nick

  noun

  Old Nick.

nick

¹ American  

[nik] / nɪk /

noun

• nicks
  plural

1. a small notch, groove, chip, or the like, cut into or existing in something.

2. a hollow place produced in an edge or surface, as of a dish, by breaking, chipping, or the like.

   I didn't notice those tiny nicks in the vase when I bought it.

3. a small dent or wound.

4. a small groove on one side of the shank of a printing type, serving as a guide in setting or to distinguish different types.

5. Biochemistry. a break in one strand of a double-stranded DNA or RNA molecule.

6. British Slang. prison.

---

verb (used with object)

• nicks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• nicked,
  past participle,  past
• nicking
  present participle

1. to cut into or through.

   I nicked my chin while shaving.

2. to hit or injure slightly.

3. to make a nick or nicks in (something); notch, groove, or chip.

4. to record by means of a notch or notches.

5. to incise certain tendons at the root of (a horse's tail) to give it a higher carrying position; make an incision under the tail of (a horse).

6. to hit, guess, catch, etc., exactly.

7. Slang. to trick, cheat, or defraud.

   How much did they nick you for that suit?

8. British Slang.

   1. to arrest (a criminal or suspect).

   2. to capture; nab.

   3. to steal.

      Someone nicked her pocketbook on the bus.

idioms

1. in the nick of time, at the right or vital moment, usually at the last possible moment.

   The fire engines arrived in the nick of time.

Nick ² American  

[nik] / nɪk /

noun

1. Old Nick.

2. a male given name, form of Nicholas.

---

nick ¹ British  

/ nɪk /

noun

1. a small notch or indentation on an edge or surface

2. a groove on the shank of a printing type, used to orientate type and often to distinguish the fount

3. a slang word for prison police station

4. informal in good condition

5. at the last possible moment; at the critical moment

---

verb

1. (tr) to chip or cut

2. slang (tr)

   1. to steal

   2. to take into legal custody; arrest

3. informal to move or depart rapidly

4. to divide and reset (certain of the tail muscles of a horse) to give the tail a high carriage

5. (tr) to guess, catch, etc, exactly

6. (intr) (of breeding stock) to mate satisfactorily

7. slang to defraud someone to the extent of

nick ² British  

/ nɪk /

noun

1. computing an alias adopted by a member of a chatroom or forum; nickname

---

nick More Idioms  

1. see in the nick of time.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unnicked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nicks
  plural

Participles

• nicking
  present
• nicked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• nick
  simple
• nicks
  simple
• have nicked
  perfect
• has nicked
  perfect
• am nicking
  progressive
• are nicking
  progressive
• is nicking
  progressive
• have been nicking
  perfect progressive
• has been nicking
  perfect progressive

Past

• nicked
  simple
• had nicked
  perfect
• was nicking
  progressive
• were nicking
  progressive
• had been nicking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will nick
  simple
• will have nicked
  perfect
• will be nicking
  progressive
• will have been nicking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of nick

1475–85; obscurely akin to Old English gehnycned wrinkled, Old Norse hnykla to wrinkle

Explanation

A nick is a tiny cut or scratch. Your neighbor might be so proud and protective of his brand new car that even a nick in its paint would be deeply upsetting to him. To make a nick is also to nick: you might accidentally nick your dog when you're cutting tangles and mats out of her fur, or nick yourself when you're gathering up pieces of a broken glass in the sink. Informally, you also nick someone when you cheat them out of some cash or nick something when you steal it. If help arrives "in the nick of time," it comes at the very last possible second.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nick Nick nicks nicked nicking

This should be a really good match and I think Paraguay will nick the win they need late on.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Andy Robertson looks in brilliant nick because he has only played half a season at Liverpool.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

The country stored up 1.26 billion barrels of oil in the nick of time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

It built up those reserves just in the nick of time.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

Bors had managed to find him at an abbey, during his two days’ absence, and now he came back in the nick of time to fight Sir Mador for the Queen.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Asked by iHeartPodcasts President Will Pearson why it was the right time to start a podcast, Nick Jonas deadpanned, “Well, we’ve always loved the sound of our own voices.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

This year, says Nick, "coolcationers" have also been coming up from the south of England.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“We want you to become slightly more cautious because positive EPS estimate revision momentum has cooled somewhat,” Nick Raich of the Earnings Scout wrote in a recent research note.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Safety Nick Andersen had a team-best nine tackles for the Rams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

“But misfortunes are commonplace, Taylor, and relative. Look at the misfortune Nick Yew has endured this year. Or Ross Wilcox. How is destroying your classmate's property going to help your father?”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Scott Boland bowled 74 deliveries to Root in the remaining three Tests of that series, conceded 39 runs and dismissed Root four times by consistently probing at that fuller length and finding nicks.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025

Living “in the heart of elephant country” from 1966-70, Mr. Douglas-Hamilton learned to tell hundreds of elephants apart, largely through the shape of their ears or tears and nicks in them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

Its wood is worn with 19 years of scratches and nicks, but its bold black type persists:

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2023

If the Bruins can withstand some nicks and bruises, they can win it all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2023

Crude pictograms defaced the far side of the door, along with an abundance of less orderly nicks and scratches.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Both openers were caught behind as Rosemary Mair and Bree Illing found plenty of movement through the air, before former skipper Heather Knight dropped anchor with 28 until she also nicked to the keeper.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

Imagine it like this: It is late in the evening of April 15, 1865, and Abraham Lincoln has survived an assassination attempt, the bullet aimed by John Wilkes Booth having merely nicked his now-bandaged scalp.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Kelly: What, you just nicked another kid's football?!

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

Phil Salt also nicked off in the first over while Brook made 21, Jacob Bethell 21, Tom Banton 33 and Sam Curran 24 – all contributions but not match-defining scores.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

I reached up to feel the nicked spot.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

And, of course, we’ve been in a reciprocal comedy arrangement with Britain — or at least we have been nicking their ideas for shows — for years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026

All three of his dismissals against pace, including nicking off against Nepal seamer Nandan Yadav, have come against balls clocked between 75-82mph.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

Jamie Smith, another Ashes player in poor form, was almost bowled before nicking a cut behind next ball in the second over for five, before opening partner Duckett hacked a pull to mid-on.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

England were patiently absorbing it all and waiting for Wales to make a mistake before nicking the ball.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025

“A mission’s nicking files from the Russian embassy without getting caught. Which we both did even though you got most of the credit. This is...sightseeing. We’re just going to follow a girl.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti