tick.
A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.
Meaning & usage
A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English tyke, teke, from Old English ticia (“parasitic animal, tick”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīkō, compare Dutch teek, German Zecke.
A relatively quiet but sharp sound generally made repeatedly by moving machinery.
The steady tick of the clock provided a comforting background for the conversation.
A mark on any scale of measurement; a unit of measurement.
At midday, the long bond is up a tick.
A jiffy (unit of time defined by basic timer frequency).
A short period of time, particularly a second.
I'll be back in a tick.
A periodic increment of damage or healing caused by an ongoing status effect.
Each of the fixed time periods, in a tick-based game, in which players or characters may perform a set number of actions.
A mark (✓) made to indicate agreement, correctness, or acknowledgement.
Indicate that you are willing to receive marketing material by putting a tick in the box
A bird seen (or heard) by a birdwatcher, for the first time that day, year, trip, etc., and thus added to a list of observed birds.
A whinchat (Saxicola rubetra).
A tap or light touch.
A slight speck.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English *tik, tek, tyche (“light touch, tap”), from the verb (see Etymology 3 below). Compare Dutch tik (“a pat, tap”), Middle High German zic (“a slight touch”).
To make a clicking noise similar to the movement of the hands of an analog clock.
To make a tick or checkmark.
To work or operate, especially mechanically.
He took the computer apart to see how it ticked.
I wonder what makes her tick.
To strike gently; to pat.
To add (a bird) to a list of birds that have been seen (or heard).
Where this word comes from
From Middle English ticken, tiken, probably from Old English *ticcian (“to touch, tap”), from Proto-West Germanic *tikkōn (“to touch, tap”), cognate with German zecken (“to nudge, poke, jab”). Doublet of tig.
Ticking.
A sheet that wraps around a mattress; the cover of a mattress, containing the filling.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English tike, probably from Middle Dutch tike and Middle Low German teke, both ultimately from Latin theca (“cover”). Compare also German Zieche (“duvet, pillowcase”).
Credit, trust.
Where this word comes from
Clipping of ticket.
To go on trust, or credit.
To give tick; to trust.
Where this word comes from
Clipping of ticket.
A goat.
Tickhill, Tickham, Ticknock, Tickenhall Drive, Tickenhill Manor, Tickenhurst
Where this word comes from
From Middle English tik-, tic-, tike-, tiken- (in compounds), an unassibilated form of Middle English tiche, tichen (“young goat”), from Old English tiċċen (“young goat; kid”), from Proto-West Germanic *tikkīn (“goatling”), diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *tigā (“goat”). Cognate with regional German Zicke (“nanny goat”), from Ziege (“goat; nanny goat”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.