ticktock

American  

[tik-tok] / ˈtɪkˌtɒk /

Sometimes tictoc

noun

1. an alternating ticking sound, as that made by a clock.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to emit or produce a ticking sound, like that of a clock.

ticktock British  

/ ˈtɪkˌtɒk /

noun

1. a ticking sound as made by a clock

---

verb

1. (intr) to make a ticking sound

Etymology

Origin of ticktock

First recorded in 1840–50; imitative

Example Sentences

Together they produced an hourslong ticktock cacophony that has become the unwanted soundtrack of the lives of McKee and her neighbors.

From Seattle Times

These improvised tactics make frequent appearances in John Lancaster’s “The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, and the Dawn of American Aviation,” a ticktock re-creation of America’s first transcontinental airplane race.

From Washington Post

There’s pointillistic syncopation from marimba, glockenspiel and pizzicato strings, with a backdrop of sustained chords: the ticktock of everyday minutiae held together by the promise of constancy.

From New York Times

“Thirteen Lives” is a solid achievement, technically and dramatically, using a ticktock timeline and periodically superimposing on-screen maps of the miles-long cave system to build tension.

From Washington Post

The public is offered a timeline of events, a preliminary ticktock, not of why the mayhem unfolded but of how it was put down.

From Washington Post