ticker
Americannoun
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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:
Four years later, without Cruyff, they reached the final again, only to be beaten by Argentina in extra time under a sky of Buenos Aires ticker tape.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The index, which trades under the ticker symbol “SOX,” saw choppy trading action in Friday’s session, falling as much as 5.7% before briefly swinging into positive territory.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“We believe this lawsuit amounts to nothing more than an attempt by MP to slow USAR’s bold vision and significant momentum,” the company said, referring to itself by its Nasdaq ticker symbol.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
One way to begin your research is to click on the ticker symbols for more information.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Across the river in Manhattan, on Wall Street and Park Avenue, Delancey Street and Broadway, people danced under showers of computer cards and ticker tape.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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
These were the most-searched tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m.:
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Click on the tickers for more about each index, stock or ETF.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
If you still want specific tickers, I can pull a few examples with caution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
As she had told him, over against the wall stood the three tickers, side by side, and beyond them a desk and a telephone switchboard.
From The Money Gods by Clark, Ellery H.
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.
