tick over
Britishverb
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Also: idle. (of an engine) to run at low speed with the throttle control closed and the transmission disengaged
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to run smoothly without any major changes
keep the firm ticking over until I get back
noun
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.
The men also averaged a tick over five goals a game in the preliminary round plus looked a little rusty doing it.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026
But if he had checked in at 5-9 15/16, and not just a tick over 5-10, you just know it would have been a deal-breaker for some teams.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2019
Federer ended the giant-killing run of Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov when he cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory in a one-sided semi-final that lasted just a tick over an hour.
From Reuters • Mar. 15, 2014
It'd be nice to tick over – but for the last few years, we've been on a deficit.
From The Guardian • Aug. 8, 2012
Ivy watched the lime-green alarm clock on June’s bedside table tick over to 9:33.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
