Advertisement

Advertisement

what makes one tick



Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

What makes one function characteristically, what motivates one, as in We've never figured out what makes these chess players tick . This expression alludes to tick in the sense of “function as an operating mechanism, such as a clock.” [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement