nick

[ nik ]

/ nɪk /

noun

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.

a small dent or wound.

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

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

British Slang. prison.

verb (used with object)

to cut into or through: I nicked my chin while shaving.

to hit or injure slightly.

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

to record by means of a notch or notches.

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).

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

Slang. to trick, cheat, or defraud: How much did they nick you for that suit?

British Slang.

to arrest (a criminal or suspect).
to capture; nab.
to steal: Someone nicked her pocketbook on the bus.

Nearby words

nicholson, jack, nichrome, nicht, nicht wahr, nicias, nick, nick-nack, nickel, nickel acetate, nickel belt , nickel bloom

Idioms

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.

Origin of nick

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

Related formsun·nicked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nicking

The “nicking” option is regarded as a necessary cleansing ritual.
Why Are American Doctors Mutilating Girls?|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|May 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Proponents compare “nicking” to the ritual of boy circumcision.
Why Are American Doctors Mutilating Girls?|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|May 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
And just like that, we were all back to nicking out in the field.
For Soldiers Like Me, Cigarettes and War Are Inseparable|Colby Buzzell|February 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The custom of shaving and nicking the head of a fool is very old.
Folk-lore of Shakespeare|Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer

And all the time he was nicking away, and in his hurry failing to get a spark to drop in the tinder.
Cormorant Crag|George Manville Fenn
I says, 'anything from plowing to threshing and nicking a nag's tail,' I says.
A Son of Hagar|Sir Hall Caine
The ceremony of nicking the Royal and Corporation swans on the Thames still continues.
Pubs|Various
Break the tube just at this place, after first nicking it there with a file.
Soap-Bubbles|C. V. Boys

British Dictionary definitions for nicking (1 of 2)

nick

/ (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

British a slang word for prison, police station

in good nick informal in good condition

in the nick of time at the last possible moment; at the critical moment

verb

(tr) to chip or cut

(tr) slang, mainly British

to steal
to take into legal custody; arrest

(intr often foll by off) informal to move or depart rapidly

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

(tr) to guess, catch, etc, exactly

(intr) (of breeding stock) to mate satisfactorily

nick someone for US and Canadian slang to defraud someone to the extent of

Word Origin for nick

C15: perhaps changed from C14 nocke nock

British Dictionary definitions for nicking (2 of 2)

nick

/ (nɪk) /

noun

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

Word Origin for nick

short for nickname

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nicking (1 of 3)

nick

1520s, "to make a notch in," from nick (n.). Sense of "to steal" is from 1869, probably from earlier slang sense of "to catch, take unawares, arrest" (1620s). The precise sense connection is unclear. Related: Nicked; nicking.

Word Origin and History for nicking (1 of 3)

Nick

masc. proper name, familiar form of Nicholas. As "the devil" by 1640s, but the reason for it is obscure.

Word Origin and History for nicking (2 of 3)

nick

"notch, groove, slit," late 15c., nyke, of unknown origin, possibly influenced by Middle French niche (see niche), or from it. Nick of time is first attested 1640s (nick of opportunity is 1610s), possibly from an old custom of recording time as it passed by making notches on a tally stick, though nick in the general sense of "critical moment" is older (1570s, Hanmer, who adds "as commonly we say") than the phrase.

nick

noun

verb (used with object)

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Origin of nick

Examples from the Web for nicking

British Dictionary definitions for nicking (1 of 2)

nick

noun

verb

Word Origin for nick

British Dictionary definitions for nicking (2 of 2)

nick

noun

Word Origin for nick

Word Origin and History for nicking (1 of 3)

nick

Word Origin and History for nicking (1 of 3)

Nick

Word Origin and History for nicking (2 of 3)

nick

Medicine definitions for nicking

nicking

n.

Idioms and Phrases with nicking

nick