Tick definition
What makes him tick?
An example of to tick is for a clock to make a noise every second.
When interest rates move up a tick.
As the clock ticked.
Machines ticking away; curious about what makes people tick.
A clock ticking the hours; a taxi meter ticking the fare.
Ticked off each name on the list.
To buy something on tick.
The steady tick of the clock provided a comforting background for the conversation.
At midday, the long bond is up a tick.
I'll be back in a tick.
Indicate that you are willing to receive marketing material by putting a tick in the box.
He took the computer apart to see how it ticked.
I wonder what makes her tick.
An example of a tick is the sound of a watch or clock.
- to reprimand
- to make angry or irritable
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of tick
- Middle English tikke probably from Middle Dutch tīke ultimately from Latin thēca receptacle from Greek thēkē dhē- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English tike, tik perhaps from Old English ticca
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English tik light tap
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Short for ticket
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Old English ticia (“parasitic animal"), from West Germanic, compare Dutch teek, German Zecke.
From Wiktionary
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From Wiktionary
- From Middle English tek (“light touch", "tap")
From Wiktionary
- From ticket
From Wiktionary