ticker
Americannoun
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tickers
plural
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a telegraphic receiving instrument that automatically prints stock prices, market reports, etc., on a paper tape.
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a person or thing that ticks.
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Slang. a watch.
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Slang. the heart.
noun
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slang
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the heart
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a watch
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a person or thing that ticks
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stock exchange the US word for tape machine
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ticker
1820–30; 1880–85 ticker for def. 4; tick 1 + -er 1
Explanation
A device that transmits and displays stock prices is called a ticker. The narrow strip of paper on which this information was printed prior to the 1960s was called ticker tape. The financial districts of cities once had masses of used ticker tape—in old movies and newsreels, you can see ticker tape being tossed from windows as confetti during parades. Today stock tickers transmit information electronically. The name ticker comes from the sound the original machines made, similar to a ticking clock (something that, along with your beating heart, can be called a ticker colloquially).
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:
“If that underlying product is TLT, it’s telling you that there are bond bulls,” he said, referring to the ticker for the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Honestly, I am fine. First of all, I'm getting my old ticker checked out."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Here were the most active stock-market ticker symbols on MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
WaFd would remain a publicly traded company in the deal, change its name to EverBank Financial and trade under the ticker “EVBK.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
The telephone and the big board and the ticker were all fakes, of course.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Bare still reflexively recites stock tickers out loud when companies are mentioned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
In April, I mentioned research showing that some companies were boosting their share prices by adding “AI” to their corporate names or stock tickers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
One way to begin your research is to click on the tickers for more information about each company.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The message from those stock tickers is clear: Even A.I.-bullish investors are nervous about how the biggest companies in the space will fare without jacking up costs on all their products going forward.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
At one, when he went out to snatch a mouthful at a standing lunch, he consulted three tickers, impatient that no further sales had been recorded.
From Making Money by Owen Johnson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
