notch

[ noch ]

/ nɒtʃ /

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

Nearby words

notarize, notary, notary public, notate, notation, notch, notch baby, notch effect, notchback, notched collar, notchy

Idioms

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

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

Related forms

notch·y, adjectiveun·notched, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for notchy

Notchy—a creek entering Tellico river, in Monroe county, Tennessee.
Myths of the Cherokee|James Mooney

British Dictionary definitions for notchy (1 of 2)

notchy

/ (ˈnɒtʃɪ) /

adjective

(of a motor vehicle gear mechanism) requiring careful gear-changing, as if having to fit the lever into narrow notches

British Dictionary definitions for notchy (2 of 2)

notch

/ (nɒtʃ) /

noun

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)

verb (tr)

to cut or make a notch in

to record with or as if with a notch

(usually foll by up) informal to score or achievethe team notched up its fourth win

Word Origin for notch

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

Medicine definitions for notchy

notch

[ nŏch ]

n.

An indentation at the edge of a structure; an incisure.

An upstroke or peak on a pulse tracing.

Idioms and Phrases with notchy

notch

see take down a notch.