Slang dictionary

the ick

[ thee ik ]

What does the ick mean?

The ick is a term used in dating to refer to a sudden feeling of disgust or repulsion to a dating partner someone was previously attracted to.

The ick is often described as if it were a fictional disease or sickness. Often, someone is said to “get” or “catch” the ick when they are suddenly repulsed by a person they once were attracted to.

The ick is typically used to describe a sudden feeling of disgust that seems to come out of nowhere. There are many possible reasons why someone might feel the ick, such as a dating partner doing or saying something that causes someone not to be attracted to them anymore. It is also possible that a person gets the ick for no describable reason and they just get a bad feeling.

While the ick is not a term used in psychology, experts have described it as being a common reaction, and it may occur as part of a mental defense mechanism to protect oneself from potentially bad relationships.

Example: My sister dumped her boyfriend after she got the ick.

Related words

love language, love bombing, it's been real, headcanon, situationship

Where does the ick come from?

text, the ick

The term the ick in reference to dating comes from “Once in a Lifetime,” a 1999 episode of the TV Show Ally McBeal. In the episode, Ally McBeal (Callista Flockhart) refers to not being attracted to someone for unknown reasons as “the ick.” The term is used repeatedly in the episode to describe Ally’s lack of attraction to a coworker.

The ick was rarely used as a slang dating term until the later 2010s, when it started to be discussed in articles about dating. The reality show Love Island seems to have helped popularize the term, as several cast members would explain what the term meant during episodes of the show.

By the early 2020s, the term the ick became very popular on social media and as a result was profiled by mainstream media outlets.

Examples of the ick

it gave you the ick when that strong gust of wind blew my hat off and it kept blowing away every time i bent over to pick it up didn’t it
@midsmoker34, August 12, 2023
Although you might want to try to rationalise your feelings, and convince yourself that you do like this person despite feeling cringed out, at the end of the day "the ick" is a feeling that's pretty hard to shake.
Emily Gulla, Cosmopolitan, August 9, 2023

Who uses the ick?

The ick is a dating term that is commonly used on social media.

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of the ick like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of the ick that will help our users expand their word mastery.