Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

make tick

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English

Syllables: make tick
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To cause someone or something to operate the way it does.

Colloquial

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, tick.

Example Sentences

"I honestly don't know the specifics that make him tick, and I wish I did."
"What makes kinky people tick? Is it the desire for cheap thrills? The idea of flaunting social morés? The restless desire for something different than traditional sexual practices?"
"Most of us find ourselves caught in the middle, ducking for cover and wondering just who these people are and what could possibly make them tick."
"I wanted to roam the world, exploring what made it tick, helping to make it tick better, and never get married."
"So what is it that makes SBB (Swiss national railways) tick? In my humble opinion, two things. Firstly, a comprehensive and set-in-stone integrated timetable (incorporating trains, ferries, cable cars and buses, including the world-famous yellow 'post-autos'), compiled four years in advance and which gets tested twice before it becomes operational."

Etymology

An allusion to the workings of a clock making it operate with a ticking noise.

Usage

Colloquial

Inflected Forms

makes tick (present, singular) making tick (participle, present) made tick (participle, past) made tick (past)

Questions

What does make tick mean?: To cause someone or something to operate the way it does.
Where does make tick come from?: An allusion to the workings of a clock making it operate with a ticking noise.

How to pronounce make tick

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “make tick”.
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