tick
/tɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A relatively quiet but sharp sound generally made repeatedly by moving machinery.
noun
A mark on any scale of measurement; a unit of measurement.
noun
Each of the fixed time periods, in a tick-based game, in which players or characters may perform a set number of actions.
noun
A mark (✓) made to indicate agreement, correctness, or acknowledgement.
Example Sentences
- "Sucking up all you can / Sucking up all you can suck and suck / Working up under my patience like a little tick / Fat little parasite (parasite) / Suck me dry / My fruit is bruised and borrowed / You thieving bastards / You have turned my blood cold and bitter"
- "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"
- "Kate's choice to don her pink suit again now, at the height of the Barbiecore trend, shows the royal really does have her finger on the pulse. That, paired with her statement belt and the fact pearls are having a real fashion moment (courtesy of the Met Gala) is three big ticks from us."
Etymology
From Middle English tyke, teke, from Old English ticia (“parasitic animal, tick”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīkō, compare Dutch teek, German Zecke.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /tɪk/
- British English: /tɪk/