tick

[ tik ]

/ tɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tick ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a slight, sharp, recurring click, tap, or beat, as of a clock.

Chiefly British Informal. a moment or instant.

a small dot, mark, check, or electronic signal, as used to mark off an item on a list, serve as a reminder, or call attention to something.

Stock Exchange.

a movement in the price of a stock, bond, or option.
the smallest possible tick on a given exchange.

Manège. a jumping fault consisting of a light touch of a fence with one or more feet.

a small contrasting spot of color on the coat of a mammal or the feathers of a bird.

verb (used without object)

to emit or produce a tick, like that of a clock.

to pass as with ticks of a clock: The hours ticked by.

verb (used with object)

to sound or announce by a tick or ticks: The clock ticked the minutes.

to mark with a tick or ticks; check (usually followed by off); to tick off the items on the memo.

Verb Phrases

tick off, Slang.

to make angry: His mistreatment of the animals really ticked me off.
Chiefly British. to scold severely: The manager will tick you off if you make another mistake.

Nearby words

tic-tac-toe, tical, ticarcillin disodium, tichy, ticino, tick, tick bird, tick box, tick fever, tick off, tick over

Idioms

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

1400–50; late Middle English tek little touch; akin to Dutch tik a touch, pat, Norwegian tikka to touch or shove slightly. See tickle

Can be confused

tic tick

Definition for tick (2 of 4)

tick

[ 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 are vectors of disease.

sheeptick.

Origin of tick

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

Definition for tick (3 of 4)

tick

[ tik ]

/ tɪk /

noun

the cloth case of a mattress, pillow, etc., containing hair, feathers, or the like.

ticking.

Origin of tick

1425–75; late Middle English tikke, teke, tyke (cognate with Dutch tijk, German Zieche) ≪ Latin tēca, thēca < Greek thḗkē case

Also called bedtick.

Definition for tick (4 of 4)

tick

⁴

[ tik ]

/ tɪk /

noun Chiefly British Informal.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for tick

The Senate races in both states are tight as a tick, with no candidate hitting 50 percent in any of the polls.
How This Election Could Go to January|Michael Tomasky|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Once content to find a X-Men Calendar or a signed drawing of The Tick, fans now expect—and get—a whole lot more.
Too Many Spider-Men, Too Little Time: Get Ready for Comic-Con|Annaliza Savage|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes they are almost amusing, like when a group of infantry soldiers filmed themselves dancing to Ke$ha's Tick Tock.
Israeli Soldiers Dancing at Hebron Wedding Were Probably Not Welcome Guests|Avner Gvaryahu|August 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some kind of fly, gnit, gnat, tick or flea of some kind...the desert kind.
Marine First Lieutenant Nathan Krissoff’s Last Letters Home From Iraq|Matt Pottinger|May 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

But for all his romance with the Muslim world, the president has a tick about Israel.
Barack Obama’s Cairo Speech, and His Israel Problem|Marty Peretz|February 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But no sooner was there stillness than it began again—tick, tick, tick.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
That in practically all cases of this disease it can be shown that the patient has been bitten by a tick.
Insects and Diseases|Rennie W. Doane
So we made it up, and went in Jaurion's loge and stood each other a blomboudingue on tick—and called Jaurion bad names.
The Martian|George Du Maurier
Often, for a variety in the lessons, she had to go to the baker without money; then her master simply gave the order, ‘on tick!’
The Animal Story Book|Various
On "tick paralysis" in sheep and man following bites of Dermacentor venustus.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for tick (1 of 4)

tick

/ (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

to produce a recurrent tapping sound or indicate by such a soundthe clock ticked the minutes away

(when tr, often foll by off) to mark or check (something, such as a list) with a tick

what makes someone tick informal the basic drive or motivation of a person

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)

tick

/ (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)

tick

/ (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)

tick

⁴

/ (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

Medicine definitions for tick

tick

[ tĭk ]

n.

Any of numerous small bloodsucking parasitic arachnids of the families Ixodidae and Argasidae, many of which transmit febrile diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.

Any of various usually wingless, louselike insects of the family Hippobosciddae that are parasitic on sheep, goats, and other animals.

Science 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.

Idioms and Phrases with tick

tick

In addition to the idiom beginning with tick

tickled pink
tickle one's fancy
tickle the ivories
tick off

also see:

clock is ticking
tight as a tick
what makes one tick