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tick box

American  
[tik boks] / ˈtɪk ˌbɒks /
Sometimes tick-box,

noun

Chiefly British.
  1. another term for check box.


tick box British  

noun

  1. (on a form, questionnaire, or test) a square in which one places a tick to show agreement with the accompanying statement

"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

Etymology

Origin of tick box

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Others said they had "no trust in management" and called the consultation a "tick box exercise".

From BBC Feb. 24, 2025

The form was "little more than a tick box exercise", he told the hearing.

From BBC Sep. 27, 2024

She says science to exploit often becomes “a tick box exercise”—doing only what's needed to satisfy a checklist.

From Scientific American Aug. 15, 2023

“It’s a job well done. It’s a tick box and we move forward to the Philippines and we’ve still got work and we’ve still got things to focus on,” Bott said.

From Seattle Times Jul. 24, 2023

We are so rare that you will not find that demographic tick box on many applications.

From Washington Post Nov. 25, 2022

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