QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Idioms about tick
what makes one tick, the motive or explanation of one's behavior: The biographer failed to show what made Herbert Hoover tick.
Origin of tick
1First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English tek “little touch”; akin to Dutch tik “a touch, pat,” Norwegian tikka “to touch or shove slightly”; see tickle
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tick
tic, tickWords nearby tick
tic, tical, tic douloureux, tichy, Ticino, tick, tick bird, tick-borne, tick-borne typhus, tick box, ticked
Other definitions for tick (2 of 4)
tick2
[ tik ]
/ tɪk /
noun
Origin of tick
2First recorded before 900; Middle English teke, tyke, Old English ticia, perhaps spelling error for tiica (i.e. tīca ) or ticca; akin to Low German tieke, German Zecke
Other definitions for tick (3 of 4)
tick3
[ tik ]
/ tɪk /
noun
the cloth case of a mattress, pillow, etc., containing hair, feathers, or the like.
Also called bed·tick [bed-tik] /ˈbɛdˌtɪk/ .
Origin of tick
3First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English tikke, teke, tyke (cognate with Dutch tijk, German Zieche ), ultimately derived from Latin tēca, thēca, from Greek thḗkē “case”
Other definitions for tick (4 of 4)
tick4
[ tik ]
/ tɪk /
noun
a score or account.
Origin of tick
4First recorded in 1635–45; short for ticket
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use tick in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for tick (1 of 4)
tick1
/ (tɪk) /
noun
a recurrent metallic tapping or clicking sound, such as that made by a clock or watch
British informal a moment or instant
a mark (✓) or dash used to check off or indicate the correctness of something
commerce the smallest increment of a price fluctuation in a commodity exchange. Tick size is usually 0.01% of the nominal value of the trading unit
verb
Word Origin for tick
C13: from Low German tikk touch; related to Old High German zekōn to pluck, Norwegian tikke to touch
British Dictionary definitions for tick (2 of 4)
tick2
/ (tɪk) /
noun
any of various small parasitic arachnids of the families Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks), typically living on the skin of warm-blooded animals and feeding on the blood and tissues of their hosts: order Acarina (mites and ticks)See also sheep tick (def. 1) Related adjective: acaroid
any of certain other arachnids of the order Acarina
any of certain insects of the dipterous family Hippoboscidae that are ectoparasitic on horses, cattle, sheep, etc, esp the sheep ked
Word Origin for tick
Old English ticca; related to Middle High German zeche tick, Middle Irish dega stag beetle
British Dictionary definitions for tick (3 of 4)
tick3
/ (tɪk) /
noun
British informal account or credit (esp in the phrase on tick)
Word Origin for tick
C17: shortened from ticket
British Dictionary definitions for tick (4 of 4)
Word Origin for tick
C15: probably from Middle Dutch tīke; related to Old High German ziecha pillow cover, Latin tēca case, Greek thēkē
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
Scientific definitions for tick
tick
[ tĭk ]
Any of numerous small, parasitic arachnids of the suborder Ixodida that feed on the blood of animals. Like their close relatives the mites and unlike spiders, ticks have no division between cephalothorax and abdomen. Ticks differ from mites by being generally larger and having a sensory pit at the end of their first pair of legs. Many ticks transmit febrile diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with tick
tick
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.