- [countable] (British English) (North American English check mark, check)a mark (✓) put next to a sum or an item on a list, usually to show that it has been checked or done or is correct
- Put a tick in the appropriate box if you would like further information about any of our products.
- You can put a mental tick against all the food items for the party.
- [countable] a very small creature that bites humans and animals and drinks their blood. There are several types of tick, some of which can carry diseases.
- a tick bite
- (also ticking)[uncountable] a short, light, regularly repeated sound, especially that of a clock or watch
- The only sound was the soft tick of the clock.
- The loud tick of the hall clock kept me awake.
- [countable] (British English, informal) a moment
- Hang on a tick!
- I'll be with you in two ticks.
Word Originnoun sense 1 and noun senses 3 to 4 Middle English (as a verb in the sense ‘pat, touch’): probably of Germanic origin and related to Dutch tik (noun), tikken (verb) ‘pat, touch’. The noun was recorded in late Middle English as ‘a light tap’; current senses date from the late 17th cent. noun sense 2 Old English ticia, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch teek and German Zecke. noun sense 5 mid 17th cent.: apparently short for ticket in the phrase on the ticket, referring to an IOU or promise to pay.
Idioms
See tick in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee tick in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishon tick
- (British English, old-fashioned, informal) on credit
- Can I have these on tick?
Check pronunciation:
tick