notch

American  

[noch] / nɒtʃ /

noun

• notches
  plural

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)

• notches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• notched,
  past participle,  past
• notching
  present participle

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.

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.

notch British  

/ nɒtʃ /

noun

1. a V-shaped cut or indentation; nick

2. a cut or nick made in a tally stick or similar object

3. a narrow pass or gorge

4. informal a step or level (esp in the phrase a notch above )

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verb

1. to cut or make a notch in

2. to record with or as if with a notch

3. informal (usually foll by up) to score or achieve

   the team notched up its fourth win

notch More Idioms  

1. see take down a notch.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• notchy
  adjective
• unnotched
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• notches
  plural

Participles

• notching
  present
• notched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• notch
  simple
• notches
  simple
• have notched
  perfect
• has notched
  perfect
• am notching
  progressive
• are notching
  progressive
• is notching
  progressive
• have been notching
  perfect progressive
• has been notching
  perfect progressive

Past

• notched
  simple
• had notched
  perfect
• was notching
  progressive
• were notching
  progressive
• had been notching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will notch
  simple
• will have notched
  perfect
• will be notching
  progressive
• will have been notching
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of notch

1570–80; a notch (by false division) for an *otch < Old French oche notch

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Explanation

A notch is a small cut or nick in something. People make notches to keep track of things. If you've even seen a little U-shaped or V-shaped cut in something, you've seen a notch. In prison, criminals will make notches on the wall to keep track of how long they've been there. If you're stranded on a desert island, you might make notches on a tree. When you make a notch, you're notching. A notch is also part of a mountain range that is lower than the peaks around it — also called a mountain pass.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

notch notches notched notching

The hurricane -- downgraded a notch to Category 3 strength on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale -- was moving slowly and remained dangerous.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

In total, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to notch a 29.5% increase in their earnings, according to FactSet.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026

This week we learned they have once again taken things up a notch.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026

Perhaps that dialled down the sense of occasion a notch.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they’d created in the link, Wylan said, “Just girls?”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

The authors estimated that private ratings are effectively two to three notches more favorable than public ratings with comparable impairment risk.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Even more striking, in more than 500 wild primates, across 27 species both living and fossil, we found no trace of a common modern dental disease: deep, V-shaped gumline notches called abfraction lesions.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026

Four-year notches on a timeline from wide-eyed kid to tuned-in teen and beyond.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

The stock at 18 times forward earnings, down from a 2026 peak of 22 times, a few notches below the S&P 500 and below Home Depot’s just over 21 times.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

I am not sure because I have not recently counted the notches in the aspen pole that is my calendar.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The conglomerate’s B shares have notched nine straight days of gains.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Leaping high, six yards out, to nod in Tommy Conway's cross from the left wing, Will Lankshear notched his ninth goal in 12 games for Middlesbrough.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Luis Suarez, meanwhile, boasts the third-highest score ever and, as the Fantasy Football Scout points out, he notched a record 55 attacking returns in 2013-14 despite missing the first five games.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

While Brent crude futures Tuesday closed at $108.75 a barrel, a level still within historical norms, diesel futures notched a fresh record of $5.26 a gallon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

On either wing, archers notched shafts to the strings of small wood-and-hom bows, but did not loose.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

University endowments are notching their strongest returns in five years thanks in part to gains from SpaceX and other AI bets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The film suffered from polarizing critical reviews, notching a 53% on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Though it is proving to be a mismatched series so far, England are building a well-balanced line-up under Brook's leadership and have barely broken sweat in notching a 2-0 lead.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Americans are drinking less, with a Gallup poll recently notching the lowest percentage of drinkers in the nearly 90-year run of the survey.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Speedily notching shafts to their strings, the archers angled their bows upwards.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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