Adjacent Words

Tick definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TICK, n. Credit; trust; as, to buy upon tick.
TICK, n. A little animal of a livid color and globose-ovate form, that infests sheep,dogs, goats, cows, etc., a species of Acarus.
TICK, n. [L. tego; Eng. to deck.] The cover or case of a bed, which contains the feathers, wool or other material.
TICK, v.i. [from tick, credit.] To run upon score.
1. To trust.
TICK, v.i. [L. tango, tago.] To beat; to pat; or to make a small noise by beating or otherwise; as a watch.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a metallic tapping sound; "he counted the ticks of the clock" [syn: tick, ticking]
2: any of two families of small parasitic arachnids with barbed proboscis; feed on blood of warm-blooded animals
3: a mark indicating that something has been noted or completed etc.; "as he called the role he put a check mark by each student's name" [syn: check mark, check, tick]
4: a light mattress v
1: make a clicking or ticking sound; "The clock ticked away" [syn: click, tick]
2: make a sound like a clock or a timer; "the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight" [syn: tick, ticktock, ticktack, beat]
3: sew; "tick a mattress" [syn: tick, retick]
4: put a check mark on or near or next to; "Please check each name on the list"; "tick off the items"; "mark off the units" [syn: check, check off, mark, mark off, tick off, tick]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English tyke, teke; akin to Middle High German zeche tick, Armenian tiz Date: 14th century 1. any of a superfamily (Ixodoidea) of bloodsucking acarid arachnids that are larger than the related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded vertebrates to feed, and include important vectors of infectious diseases 2. any of various usually wingless parasitic dipteran flies — compare sheep ked II. noun Etymology: Middle English tike, probably from Middle Dutch (akin to Old High German ziahha tick), from Latin theca cover, from Greek th?k? case; akin to Greek tithenai to place — more at do Date: 15th century 1. the fabric case of a mattress, pillow, or bolster; also a mattress consisting of a tick and its filling 2. ticking I III. noun Etymology: Middle English tek pat, light stroke; akin to Middle High German zic light push Date: 1680 1. a. a light rhythmic audible tap or beat; also a series of such ticks b. the time taken by the tick of a clock ; moment 2. a small spot or mark; especially one used to direct attention to something, to check an item on a list, or to represent a point on a scale IV. verb Date: 1721 intransitive verb 1. to make the sound of a tick or a series of ticks 2. to operate as a functioning mechanism ; run <tried to understand what made him tick> <the motor was ticking over quietly> transitive verb 1. to mark with a written tick ; check — usually used with off <ticked off each item in the list> 2. to mark, count, or announce by or as if by ticking beats <a meter ticking off the cab fare> 3. to touch with a momentary glancing blow <ticked the ball> V. noun Etymology: short for ¹ticket Date: 1642 chiefly British credit, trust; also a credit account

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a slight recurring click esp. that of a watch or clock. 2 esp. Brit. colloq. a moment; an instant. 3 a mark to denote correctness, check items in a list, etc. --v. 1 intr. a (of a clock etc.) make ticks. b (foll. by away) (of time etc.) pass. 2 intr. (of a mechanism) work, function (take it apart to see how it ticks). 3 tr. a mark (a written answer etc.) with a tick. b (often foll. by off) mark (an item in a list etc.) with a tick in checking. Phrases and idioms: in two ticks Brit. colloq. in a very short time. tick off colloq. reprimand. tick over 1 (of an engine etc.) idle. 2 (of a person, project, etc.) be working or functioning at a basic or minimum level. tick-tack (or tic-tac) Brit. a kind of manual semaphore signalling used by racecourse bookmakers to exchange information. tick-tack-toe US noughts and crosses. tick-tock the ticking of a large clock etc. what makes a person tick colloq. a person's motivation. Derivatives: tickless adj. Etymology: ME: cf. Du. tik, LG tikk touch, tick 2. n. 1 any of various arachnids of the order Acarina, parasitic on the skin of dogs and cattle etc. 2 any of various insects of the family Hippoboscidae, parasitic on sheep and birds etc. 3 colloq. an unpleasant or despicable person. Phrases and idioms: tick-bird = ox-pecker. tick fever a bacterial or rickettsial fever transmitted by the bite of a tick. Etymology: OE ticca (recorded as ticia); ME teke, tyke: cf. MDu., MLG teke, OHG zecho 3. n. colloq. credit (buy goods on tick). Etymology: app. an abbr. of TICKET in phr. on the ticket 4. n. 1 the cover of a mattress or pillow. 2 = TICKING. Etymology: ME tikke, teke f. WG f. L theca f. Gk theke case

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, n. 1. A quick, audible beat, as of a clock. 2. Any small mark intended to direct attention to something, or to serve as a check. --Dickens. 3. (Zo["o]l.) The whinchat; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.] Death tick. (Zo["o]l.) See Deathwatch.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, v. t. To check off by means of a tick or any small mark; to score. When I had got all my responsibilities down upon my list, I compared each with the bill and ticked it off. --Dickens.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, n. [Abbrev. from ticket.] Credit; trust; as, to buy on, or upon, tick.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, v. i. 1. To go on trust, or credit. 2. To give tick; to trust.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, n. [OE. tike, teke; akin to D. teek, G. zecke. Cf. Tike a tick.] (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any one of numerous species of large parasitic mites which attach themselves to, and suck the blood of, cattle, dogs, and many other animals. When filled with blood they become ovate, much swollen, and usually livid red in color. Some of the species often attach themselves to the human body. The young are active and have at first but six legs. (b) Any one of several species of dipterous insects having a flattened and usually wingless body, as the bird ticks (see under Bird) and sheep tick (see under Sheep). Tick bean, a small bean used for feeding horses and other animals. Tick trefoil (Bot.), a name given to many plants of the leguminous genus Desmodium, which have trifoliate leaves, and joined pods roughened with minute hooked hairs by which the joints adhere to clothing and to the fleece of sheep.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, n. [LL. techa, teca, L. theca case, Gr. ?, fr. ? to put. See Thesis.] 1. The cover, or case, of a bed, mattress, etc., which contains the straw, feathers, hair, or other filling. 2. Ticking. See Ticking, n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tick Tick, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ticked; p. pr. & vb. n. Ticking.] [Probably of imitative origin; cf. D. tikken, LG. ticken.] 1. To make a small or repeating noise by beating or otherwise, as a watch does; to beat. 2. To strike gently; to pat. Stand not ticking and toying at the branches. --Latimer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ticks, ticking, ticked) 1. A tick is a written mark like a V: ?. It is used to show that something is correct or has been selected or dealt with. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use check) Place a tick in the appropriate box. N-COUNT 2. If you tick something that is written on a piece of paper, you put a tick next to it. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use check) Please tick this box if you do not wish to receive such mailings... VERB: V n 3. When a clock or watch ticks, it makes a regular series of short sounds as it works. A wind-up clock ticked busily from the kitchen counter. VERB: V • Tick away means the same as tick. A grandfather clock ticked away in a corner. PHRASAL VERB: V P • ticking ...the endless ticking of clocks. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n 4. The tick of a clock or watch is the series of short sounds it makes when it is working, or one of those sounds. He sat listening to the tick of the grandfather clock. N-COUNT 5. You can use tick to refer to a very short period of time. (BRIT INFORMAL) I'll be back in a tick... = sec N-COUNT 6. If you talk about what makes someone tick, you are talking about the beliefs, wishes, and feelings that make them behave in the way that they do. (INFORMAL) He wanted to find out what made them tick... VERB: V 7. A tick is a small creature which lives on the bodies of people or animals and uses their blood as food. ...chemicals that destroy ticks and mites... N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Click, beat. 2. Bed-tick, ticking. 3. Trust, credit. II. v. n. Click, beat. III. v. a. Score, check, check off.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To run o'tick; take up goods upon trust, to run in debt. Tick; a watch. SEE SESSIONS PAPERS.

Moby Thesaurus

act, arachnid, arthropod, bank credit, be effective, be in action, beat, bedbug, beetle, birthmark, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish, bloodsucker, blotch, book credit, borrowing power, brand, breath, bug, bump, cash credit, caste mark, caterpillar, centipede, chalk, chalk up, check, check off, checkmark, chilopod, chink, cicatrix, cicatrize, click, clicking, clink, clop, clump, clunk, commercial credit, consumer credit, coup, crack, credit, credit insurance, credit rating, credit union, crump, cut, daddy longlegs, dapple, dash, define, delimit, demarcate, diplopod, discolor, discoloration, dot, drum, dull thud, earmark, engrave, engraving, flash, fleck, flick, flump, fly, freckle, function, gash, go, go pitapat, graving, hack, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, harvestman, hatch, have effect, have free play, have play, hexapod, hire purchase plan, impress, imprint, insect, installment credit, installment plan, instant, investment credit, jiff, jiffy, jot, larva, leech, lentigo, line, line of credit, macula, maggot, make a mark, mark, mark off, mark out, marking, microsecond, militate, millepede, millipede, millisecond, minute, mite, mole, moment, mosquito, mottle, never-never, nevus, nick, notch, nymph, operate, pad, palpitate, pant, parasite, pat, patch, patter, pencil, pepper, percolate, perform, perk, pitapat, pitter-patter, play, plump, plunk, point, polka dot, pop, prick, print, pulsate, pulse, punch, punctuate, puncture, rap, rating, riddle, run, scar, scarification, scarify, score, scorpion, scotch, scratch, scratching, seal, seam, sec, second, shake, speck, speckle, spider, splash, split second, splotch, spot, stain, stamp, stigma, stigmatize, strawberry mark, streak, striate, stripe, stroke, take effect, tap, tarantula, tattoo, tattoo mark, tax credit, throb, thud, thump, tick off, ticking, ticktack, ticktick, ticktock, tinkle, tittle, trace, trice, trust, tunk, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch, two shakes, underline, underscore, watermark, wink, wood tick, work