nick
noun
a small notch, groove, chip, or the like, cut into or existing in something.
nick
1 American
[nik]
/ nɪk /
noun
-
nicks
plural
-
a small notch, groove, chip, or the like, cut into or existing in something.
-
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.
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a small dent or wound.
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a small groove on one side of the shank of a printing type, serving as a guide in setting or to distinguish different types.
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Biochemistry. a break in one strand of a double-stranded DNA or RNA molecule.
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British Slang. prison.
verb (used with object)
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nicks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nicked,
past participle, past
-
nicking
present participle
-
to cut into or through.
I nicked my chin while shaving.
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to hit or injure slightly.
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to make a nick or nicks in (something); notch, groove, or chip.
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to record by means of a notch or notches.
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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).
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to hit, guess, catch, etc., exactly.
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Slang. to trick, cheat, or defraud.
How much did they nick you for that suit?
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British Slang.
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to arrest (a criminal or suspect).
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to capture; nab.
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to steal.
Someone nicked her pocketbook on the bus.
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idioms
nick
1
British
/ nɪk /
noun
-
a small notch or indentation on an edge or surface
-
a groove on the shank of a printing type, used to orientate type and often to distinguish the fount
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a slang word for prison police station
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informal in good condition
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at the last possible moment; at the critical moment
verb
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(tr) to chip or cut
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slang (tr)
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to steal
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to take into legal custody; arrest
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informal to move or depart rapidly
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to divide and reset (certain of the tail muscles of a horse) to give the tail a high carriage
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(tr) to guess, catch, etc, exactly
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(intr) (of breeding stock) to mate satisfactorily
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slang to defraud someone to the extent of
nick
2
British
/ nɪk /
noun
nick
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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nicksimple
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nickssimple
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have nickedperfect
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has nickedperfect
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am nickingprogressive
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are nickingprogressive
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is nickingprogressive
-
have been nickingperfect progressive
-
has been nickingperfect progressive
Past
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nickedsimple
-
had nickedperfect
-
was nickingprogressive
-
were nickingprogressive
-
had been nickingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing nick
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:
"Ronnie looks in good nick and is hitting the ball well and seems confident so he could have a big say in this tournament," said four-time champion Higgins.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
I can see things going wrong for De Zerbi against his old club, so I am backing Brighton to nick the points here.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 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
Thankfully, the ruckus in the henhouse had summoned Dr. Westminster back from his rounds; he came jogging in just in the nick of time.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
The actor, best known for portraying Nick Miller on the hit comedy series, is looking to part ways with the four-bedroom, four-bathroom property, which offers approximately 3,153 square feet of living space.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Nick Mendenhall said he witnessed the fatal moments in disbelief, watching the man come out of his seat and then fall into another cart on the ride before falling to the ground.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Nscale, a cloud company based in London that counts former Meta executives Nick Clegg, Sheryl Sandberg and Fidji Simo among its board members, is aiming for a public debut in the coming weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The balance of the LP was recorded at North London’s Pathway studio with Clover, a California-based country rock band, and produced by Nick Lowe, Costello’s fellow Stiff Records colleague.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
They were my friends even before I knew Simon and Nick existed.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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
Same goes for noting any damage, like nicks or scratches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
“It makes it easier to go to work. It makes it easier to deal with the nicks, bruises and pains. We needed that. We still have a great opportunity at hand.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
“You always get bumps and bruises and nicks and don’t feel great. You just keep going.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 26, 2022
As her fingers tightened on her scabbard, he could see the scars and nicks on her skin shifting over her tendons.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
With Price waiting on tops to move to within two sets of victory, Humphries nicked it by taking out a brilliant 105, with what he said "felt like the biggest shot of my career".
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Bangladesh dominated Australia on day one of the first Test, despite Steve Smith benefitting from being given not out on review to a ball he later said he nicked.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 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
She watched as he rotated his wrists to look at his palms and then the backs of his hands, a few nicked scars marking his knuckles.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
Captain Pat Cummins followed with a perfect set-up of Tristan Stubbs - pushing him back with shorter balls before nicking him off with a full delivery - to leave South Africa 102-4 at the close.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
If it was Everton equalising there at the end, it would be pure ecstasy but the fact of City nicking a point from the jaws of defeat feels like a punch in the gut.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
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
"People are just coming in, and nicking boxes and boxes of chocolate," she said.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
The moment he was inside, Harry burst out, “He was nicking Sirius’s stuff!”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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