tick

[ tik ]

/ tɪk /

noun

a slight, sharp, recurring click, tap, or beat, as of a clock.

Chiefly British Informal. a moment or instant.

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.

Stock Exchange.

a movement in the price of a stock, bond, or option.
the smallest possible tick on a given exchange.

Manège. a jumping fault consisting of a light touch of a fence with one or more feet.

a small contrasting spot of color on the coat of a mammal or the feathers of a bird.

verb (used without object)

to emit or produce a tick, like that of a clock.

to pass as with ticks of a clock: The hours ticked by.

verb (used with object)

to sound or announce by a tick or ticks: The clock ticked the minutes.

to mark with a tick or ticks; check (usually followed by off); to tick off the items on the memo.

Verb Phrases

tick off, Slang.

to make angry: His mistreatment of the animals really ticked me off.
Chiefly British. to scold severely: The manager will tick you off if you make another mistake.

Idioms for tick

what makes one tick, the motive or explanation of one's behavior: The biographer failed to show what made Herbert Hoover tick.

Origin of 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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tick

tic tick

Words nearby tick

tic-tac-toe, tical, ticarcillin disodium, tichy, ticino, tick, tick bird, tick box, tick fever, tick off, tick over

British Dictionary definitions for what makes one tick (1 of 4)

tick ¹

/ (tɪk) /

noun

a recurrent metallic tapping or clicking sound, such as that made by a clock or watch

British informal a moment or instant

a mark (✓) or dash used to check off or indicate the correctness of something

commerce 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

to produce a recurrent tapping sound or indicate by such a sound the clock ticked the minutes away

(when tr, often foll by off) to mark or check (something, such as a list) with a tick

what makes someone tick informal the basic drive or motivation of a person

Word Origin for tick

C13: from Low German tikk touch; related to Old High German zekōn to pluck, Norwegian tikke to touch

British Dictionary definitions for what makes one tick (2 of 4)

tick ²

/ (tɪk) /

noun

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) See also sheep tick (def. 1) Related adjective: acaroid

any of certain other arachnids of the order Acarina

any of certain insects of the dipterous family Hippoboscidae that are ectoparasitic on horses, cattle, sheep, etc, esp the sheep ked

Word Origin for tick

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

British Dictionary definitions for what makes one tick (3 of 4)

tick ³

/ (tɪk) /

noun

British informal account or credit (esp in the phrase on tick)

Word Origin for tick

C17: shortened from ticket

British Dictionary definitions for what makes one tick (4 of 4)

tick ⁴

/ (tɪk) /

noun

the strong covering of a pillow, mattress, etc

informal short for ticking

Word Origin for tick

C15: probably from Middle Dutch tīke; related to Old High German ziecha pillow cover, Latin tēca case, Greek thēkē

Medical definitions for what makes one tick

tick

[ tĭk ]

n.

Any of numerous small bloodsucking parasitic arachnids of the families Ixodidae and Argasidae, many of which transmit febrile diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.

Any of various usually wingless, louselike insects of the family Hippobosciddae that are parasitic on sheep, goats, and other animals.

Scientific definitions for what makes one tick

tick

[ tĭk ]

Any of numerous small, parasitic arachnids of the suborder Ixodida that feed on the blood of animals. Like their close relatives the mites and unlike spiders, ticks have no division between cephalothorax and abdomen. Ticks differ from mites by being generally larger and having a sensory pit at the end of their first pair of legs. Many ticks transmit febrile diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.

Idioms and Phrases with what makes one tick (1 of 2)

what makes one tick

What makes one function characteristically, what motivates one, as in We've never figured out what makes these chess players tick. This expression alludes to tick in the sense of “function as an operating mechanism, such as a clock.” [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]

Idioms and Phrases with what makes one tick (2 of 2)

tick

In addition to the idiom beginning with tick

tickled pink
tickle one's fancy
tickle the ivories
tick off

also see:

clock is ticking
tight as a tick
what makes one tick

BROWSE DICTIONARY

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tick