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notch

[noch]
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noun
  1. an angular or V-shaped cut, indentation, or slit in an object, surface, or edge.
  2. a cut or nick made in a stick or other object for record, as in keeping a tally.
  3. New England and Upstate New York. a deep, narrow opening or pass between mountains; gap; defile.
  4. Informal. a step, degree, or grade: This camera is a notch better than the other.
  5. Metallurgy. a taphole in a blast furnace: iron notch; cinder notch.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to cut or make a notch in.
  2. to record by notches: He notched each kill on the stick.
  3. to score, as in a game: He notched another win.
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Idioms
  1. notch up/down, to move up or down or increase or decrease by notches or degrees: The temperature has notched up another degree.
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Origin of notch

1570–80; a notch (by false division) for an *otch < Old French oche notch
Related formsnotch·y, adjectiveun·notched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for notch

notch

noun
  1. a V-shaped cut or indentation; nick
  2. a cut or nick made in a tally stick or similar object
  3. US and Canadian a narrow pass or gorge
  4. informal a step or level (esp in the phrase a notch above)
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verb (tr)
  1. to cut or make a notch in
  2. to record with or as if with a notch
  3. (usually foll by up) informal to score or achievethe team notched up its fourth win
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Word Origin

C16: from incorrect division of an otch (as a notch), from Old French oche notch, from Latin obsecāre to cut off, from secāre to cut
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 notch

n.

1570s, probably a misdivision of an otch (see N for other examples), from Middle French oche "notch," from Old French ochier "to notch," of unknown origin. Said to be unconnected to nock.

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v.

1590s, from notch (n.). Earlier verb (before misdivision) was Middle English ochen "to cut, slash" (c.1400). Related: Notched; notching.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
notch in Medicine

notch

(nŏch)
n.
  1. An indentation at the edge of a structure; an incisure.
  2. An upstroke or peak on a pulse tracing.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with notch

notch

see take down a notch.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.