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Synonyms

ticking

American  
[tik-ing] / ˈtɪk ɪŋ /

noun

  1. a strong cotton fabric, usually twilled, used especially in making cloth ticks.

  2. a similar cloth in satin weave or Jacquard, used especially for mattress covers.

ticking British  
/ ˈtɪkɪŋ /

noun

  1. a strong cotton fabric, often striped, used esp for mattress and pillow covers

"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 ticking

First recorded in 1635–45; tick 3 + -ing 1

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.

Ticking through a backlog of projects, Stockdale said he is guided by a belief shared by many officials in Oregon and elsewhere who are increasingly looking to data centers for a boost.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

Ticking is the predominant sound inside Bala Muhammad's tiny watch-repair shop, tucked away on a bustling street in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2024

Ticking off the seasons, Libner shares how the witch hazel blooms “fragrantly and flagrantly” in January, an Italian prune fruits in summer and a paperbark maple with cinnamon exfoliating bark is “gorgeous in every season.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 14, 2021

Ticking off goals — from reducing geographic variations in medical practice to improving care at the end of life — Whitehouse said “there is nothing Democratic or Republican” about them.

From Washington Post • Sep. 6, 2017

There is that machine, glass-masked, With continual questions tasked, Ticking with untiring rock: It is called an eight-day clock.

From A Hidden Life and Other Poems by MacDonald, George

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.