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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

1
First 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, tick

Other definitions for tick (2 of 4)

tick2
[ tik ]
/ tɪk /

noun
any of numerous bloodsucking arachnids of the order Acarina, including the families Ixodidae and Argasidae, somewhat larger than the related mites and having a barbed proboscis for attachment to the skin of warm-blooded vertebrates: some ticks, as the deer tick, are vectors of disease.

Origin of tick

2
First 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

3
First 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 /
Chiefly British Informal.

noun
a score or account.

Origin of tick

4
First 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)

tick4
/ (tɪk) /

noun
the strong covering of a pillow, mattress, etc
informal short for ticking

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.
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