tick

UK: /ˈtɪk/ US: /tɪk/ ,(tik)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tick¹ /tɪk/   n. [countable]

1. a slight, sharp click or beat, as of a clock.
2. British Terms a moment or instant:
   I'll be back in a tick.
3. Electronics, a small dot, mark, or electronic signal used to mark off an item on a list or call attention to something.

v. 

4. to make the sound of a tick, like that of a clock:
   [no object] The clock ticked loudly.
5. (of time) to pass, as marked by or as if marked by the ticks of a clock:
   [no object] The hours ticked by.
6. to sound or announce by a tick or ticks:
   [~ + object] The clock ticked the minutes.
7. to mark with a tick;
   check:
   [~ (+ off) + object] to tick off the items.
8. tick off, [Slang.] to make angry: [~ + object + off]
   She really ticked me off.
   [~ + off + object]
   He managed to tick off everyone in the office.

Idioms

9. Idioms what makes one tick, one's basic motives, needs, etc.:
   Once we discover what makes him tick we'll find a way to get him to agree with us.

tick² /tɪk/   n. [countable]

1. Invertebrates a bloodsucking insectlike creature, related to but larger than a mite:
   Deer ticks carry Lyme disease.

tick³ /tɪk/   n. [countable]

1. the cloth case of a mattress, pillow, etc., containing hair, feathers, or the like.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tick¹  (tik), n. 

1. a slight, sharp, recurring click, tap, or beat, as of a clock.
2. British Terms [Chiefly Brit. Informal.] a moment or instant.
3. Electronics, a small dot, mark, check, or electronic signal, as used to mark off an item on a list, serve as a reminder, or call attention to something.
4. [Stock Exchange.]
   • a movement in the price of a stock, bond, or option.
   • the smallest possible tick on a given exchange.
5. Sport [Manège.] a jumping fault consisting of a light touch of a fence with one or more feet.
6. Veterinary Diseases a small contrasting spot of color on the coat of a mammal or the feathers of a bird.

v.i. 

7. to emit or produce a tick, like that of a clock.
8. to pass as with ticks of a clock:
   The hours ticked by.

v.t. 

9. to sound or announce by a tick or ticks:
   The clock ticked the minutes.
10. to mark with a tick or ticks;
    check (usually fol. by off );
    to tick off the items on the memo.
11. tick off, [Slang.]
    • to make angry:
      His mistreatment of the animals really ticked me off.
    • British Terms [Chiefly Brit.] to scold severely:
      The manager will tick you off if you make another mistake.
12. what makes one tick, the motive or explanation of one's behavior:
    The biographer failed to show what made Herbert Hoover tick.

• 1400–50; late Middle English tek little touch; akin to Dutch tik a touch, pat, Norwegian tikka to touch or shove slightly. See tickle

tick² (tik),  n. 

1. Insects any of numerous bloodsucking arachnids of the order Acarina, including the families Ixodidae and Argasidae, somewhat larger than the related mites and having a barbed proboscis for attachment to the skin of warm-blooded vertebrates: some ticks are vectors of disease.
2. Insects See sheeptick. 

• bef. 900; Middle English teke, tyke, Old English ticia (perh. spelling, spelled error for tiica (i.e. tīca) or ticca); akin to Low German tieke, German Zecke

tick³ (tik),  n. 

1. the cloth case of a mattress, pillow, etc., containing hair, feathers, or the like.
2. ticking. Also called bedtick. 

• Greek thé̄kē case
• late Middle English tikke, teke, tyke (cognate with Dutch tijk, German Zieche) Latin tēca, thēca 1425–75

tick⁴ (tik),  n. [Chiefly Brit. Informal.]

1. British Terms a score or account.
2. Idioms on tick, on credit or trust:
   We bought our telly on tick.

• short for ticket 1635–45

tick¹,¹ +n. 

[Business.]
1. Business
   • Business a movement in the price of a stock, bond, or option.
   • Business the smallest possible tick on a given exchange.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tick / tɪk/ noun

1. a recurrent metallic tapping or clicking sound, such as that made by a clock or watch
2. a moment or instant
3. a mark () or dash used to check off or indicate the correctness of something
4. the smallest increment of a price fluctuation in a commodity exchange. Tick size is usually 0.01% of the nominal value of the trading unit

verb

1. to produce a recurrent tapping sound or indicate by such a sound: the clock ticked the minutes away
2. when tr, often followed by off: to mark or check (something, such as a list) with a tick
3. what makes someone tick ⇒ the basic drive or motivation of a person

Etymology: 13th Century: from Low German tikk touch; related to Old High German zekōn to pluck, Norwegian tikke to touch

tick / tɪk/ noun

1. any of various small parasitic arachnids of the families Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks), typically living on the skin of warm-blooded animals and feeding on the blood and tissues of their hosts: order Acarina (mites and ticks)

Etymology: Old English ticca; related to Middle High German zeche tick, Middle Irish dega stag beetle

tick / tɪk/ noun

1. account or credit (esp in the phrase on tick)

Etymology: 17th Century: shortened from ticket

tick / tɪk/ noun

1. the strong covering of a pillow, mattress, etc
2. 
   short for ticking

Etymology: 15th Century: probably from Middle Dutch tīke; related to Old High German ziecha pillow cover, Latin tēca case, Greek thēkē