notch
an angular or V-shaped cut, indentation, or slit in an object, surface, or edge.
a cut or nick made in a stick or other object for record, as in keeping a tally.
New England and Upstate New York. a deep, narrow opening or pass between mountains; gap; defile.
Informal. a step, degree, or grade: This camera is a notch better than the other.
Metallurgy. a taphole in a blast furnace: iron notch; cinder notch.
to cut or make a notch in.
to record by notches: He notched each kill on the stick.
to score, as in a game: He notched another win.
Idioms about notch
notch up / down, to move up or down or increase or decrease by notches or degrees: The temperature has notched up another degree.
Origin of notch
1Other words from notch
- notchy, adjective
- un·notched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use notch in a sentence
Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches.
Hannibal Buress Says Bill Cosby Is a Rapist: A History of Sexual Assault Allegations | Amy Zimmerman | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs if working down a checklist, he notches short chapters about every institution within the greater floating institution.
Geoff Dyer at Sea: Unmoored but on Target | Melissa Holbrook Pierson | May 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe fence, with the open squares in the lattice serving as solid notches, is perfect for resting and aiming a rifle.
The Man Oswald First Tried to Kill Before JFK | Bill Minutaglio, Steven L. Davis | October 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Mountain State notches its worst numbers in the Workforce category, where it finishes last.
A few notches down the dial at NBC, an even more venerable media brand seems to be in crisis as well.
Daniel Gross: CNN, NBC’s ‘Today,’ are big money makers. But you wouldn’t know it. | Daniel Gross | July 31, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Work began at once, for notches must be cut in the tree, one above another, in which to place his toes.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeThe notches for him then counted twenty-three years, and number one he notched for me.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThe relative position of these two notches, however, seems to be a matter of relative (heterogonic) growth.
Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks | John A. WhiteThere were now ten notches on the stick, and the hunter was so weak that he could scarcely cut the last one.
Stories the Iroquois Tell Their Children | Mabel PowersThe horizontal strips A should be all fastened together when sawing the notches to fit over the uprights.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
British Dictionary definitions for notch
/ (nɒtʃ) /
a V-shaped cut or indentation; nick
a cut or nick made in a tally stick or similar object
US and Canadian a narrow pass or gorge
informal a step or level (esp in the phrase a notch above)
to cut or make a notch in
to record with or as if with a notch
(usually foll by up) informal to score or achieve: the team notched up its fourth win
Origin of notch
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with notch
see take down a notch.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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