nicker
1 Americannoun
verb
-
(of a horse) to neigh softly
-
to laugh quietly; snigger
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nicker1
First recorded in 1660–70; nick + -er 1
Origin of nicker2
First recorded in 1785–95; apparently variant of nicher, neigher, frequentative of neigh; see -er 6
Origin of nicker3
First recorded in 1875–80; perhaps special use of nicker 1
Explanation
Horses don't just whinny and neigh — they also nicker. The horse you've been visiting with carrots every afternoon might nicker softly when she sees you coming. The word nicker comes from Scottish and North England dialect. Horse experts will tell you that while a neigh is usually louder, often a call to people or other horses, a nicker is a softer sound, more of a vibration of the vocal cords. Mares nicker gently at their new foals, and many horses nicker at their favorite humans.
Vocabulary lists containing nicker
Orbiting Jupiter
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Milkweed
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
War Horse
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
He was standing in the back of his stall, but when he heard my voice, he gave a low nicker and walked to the front.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2012
I gave them the motion picture . . . and millions of minds were . . . trivialized and anesthetized by that endless nicker of ... venality.
From Time Magazine Archive
The client is a toff London tough lodged in Dublin's Mountjoy penitentiary, and the price is 5,000 nicker.
From Time Magazine Archive
Into one of the dimmest corners of the cavernous Wagner Act the Supreme Court last week cast a small nicker of light.
From Time Magazine Archive
Now and then, she would stop, toss her head, and nicker.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
My favorite patrol partner, a caramel dun named Cobbo, nickers in greeting.
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2015
Try not to make things worse but don't get your nickers in a twist about it.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2010
Swifter than that of 1929, it has more jigs, zigzags, nickers, turns and quarter-turns.
From Time Magazine Archive
He wickedly nickers his tongue to show malice.
From Time Magazine Archive
Her stories about ghosts, witches, ogres, nickers, and the whole of that race were certainly enough to frighten a child, and some of them clung to me for a very long time.
From My Autobiography A Fragment by F. Max (Friedrich Max) Müller
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
