tick

verb

/tɪk/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they tick	/tɪk/ /tɪk/
he / she / it ticks	/tɪks/ /tɪks/
past simple ticked	/tɪkt/ /tɪkt/
past participle ticked	/tɪkt/ /tɪkt/
-ing form ticking	/ˈtɪkɪŋ/ /ˈtɪkɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

jump to other results

[intransitive] (of a clock, etc.) to make short, light, regular repeated sounds to mark time passing
- In the silence we could hear the clock ticking.
- a ticking bomb
- tick away While we waited the taxi's meter kept ticking away.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- loudly
- relentlessly
- away
- …
See full entry
[transitive] (British English)
(North American English check)
tick something to put a mark (✓) next to an item on a list, an answer, etc.
- Please tick the appropriate box.
- Tick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each question.
- I've ticked the names of the people who have paid.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- simply
- mentally
- off
- …
See full entry

Word Originverb 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.

Idioms

the clock is ticking (down)

used to say that there's not much time left before something happens
- The clock is ticking down to midnight on New Year’s Eve.
- The clock is ticking for one mystery lottery winner who has less than 24 hours to claim a £64 million prize.

tick all the/somebody’s boxes

(British English, informal) to do exactly the right things to please somebody
- This is a movie that ticks all the boxes.
- The house we would like to buy ticks all our boxes.

what makes somebody tick

what makes somebody behave in the way that they do
- I've never really understood what makes her tick.

tick

noun

/tɪk/

Idioms

jump to other results

[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.
compare cross, X
enlarge image
[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
Topics Insects, worms, etc.c1
(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

on tick

(British English, old-fashioned, informal) on credit
- Can I have these on tick?