tikka

¹ British

/ ˈtiːkə /

noun

another word for tilak
the act of marking a tikka on the forehead

"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

tikka ² British

/ ˈtiːkə /

adjective

(immediately postpositive) Indian cookery (of meat, esp chicken or lamb) marinated in spices then dry-roasted, usu. in a clay oven

"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 tikka

from Hindi tika , Punjabi tikka spot, mark

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:

tikka

Take the aforementioned leftover chicken tikka masala, for example.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025

Will jollof or efo riro follow in the footsteps of tikka masala or chow mein to become UK favourites?

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2024

Not just chaat and chai, Chatpata By Kanishka merges East-meets-West food with dishes like its paneer tikka burger.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2024

For lunch, she had a wrap with zero calorie garlic mayonnaise sauce on top, while dinner consisted of a low calorie chicken tikka curry.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2024

The menu was pretty much the same as it was in Portland, except for a seafood sub and a chicken tikka masala sub.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023