tick

1 of 5

noun (1)

1
a
: a light rhythmic audible tap or beat
also : a series of such ticks
b
: the time taken by the tick of a clock : moment
2
: a small spot or mark
especially : one used to direct attention to something, to check an item on a list, or to represent a point on a scale
3
a
finance : the minimum amount by which the price of a security can move upward or downward
The minimum price fluctuation is called a "tick."Gerald Warfield
also : a stock market transaction at a price above or below the last previous transaction in the same security or the change in price that such a transaction represents
an upward/downward tick
The telegraph, and then the stock ticker, provided a number of advantages … . The ticker was named for its characteristic sound when printing; to this day, any movement of a stock's price is called a "tick." Joe Janes
Note that I assume none of you plan to spend your golden years watching the market tick by tick and jumping in and out of stocks. Barry Ritholtz
b
: a small amount
… Wednesday's fifth episode drew 12.3 same-day million viewers, up a tick from the previous week's 12.2 million.Gary Levin
see also downtick, uptick

tick

2 of 5

verb

ticked; ticking; ticks

intransitive verb

1
: to make the sound of a tick or a series of ticks
2
: to operate as a functioning mechanism : run
tried to understand what made him tick
the motor was ticking over quietly

transitive verb

1
: to mark with a written tick : check
usually used with off
ticked off each item in the list
2
: to mark, count, or announce by or as if by ticking beats
a meter ticking off the cab fare
3
: to touch with a momentary glancing blow
ticked the ball

tick

3 of 5

noun (2)

1
: any of a superfamily (Ixodoidea) of bloodsucking acarid arachnids that are larger than the related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded vertebrates to feed, and include important vectors of infectious diseases
2
: any of various usually wingless parasitic dipteran flies compare sheep ked

Illustration of tick

Illustration of tick
  • tick 1

tick

4 of 5

noun (3)

1
: the fabric case of a mattress, pillow, or bolster
also : a mattress consisting of a tick and its filling
2

tick

5 of 5

noun (4)

chiefly British
: credit, trust
also : a credit account

Examples of tick in a Sentence

Verb I could hear the clock tick. His old heart is still ticking. Tick the box next to your choice.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
After Steve was weighed and examined for fleas and ticks, we were escorted to our room. Sam Apple, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 In February, Beagle Freedom Project (BFP)— an animal welfare organization dedicated to saving lab animals and ending animal testing —shut down a private facility in Nowata, Oklahoma, performing tests on cats and dogs for the flea and tick medicine industry. Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 My favorite one is this affordable, all-natural formula that protects you against mosquitoes, flies, fleas, and ticks and doubles as both a repellent and an anti-itch cream in one. Jennifer Chan, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2024 One of the stranger consequences has been the early emergence of ticks. Steve Karnowski, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2024 Dogs that spend time in wooded habitats could have ticks that infect them, and the ticks could also spread the disease to humans. Katia Hetter, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024 In Russia, as the bomb ticks toward zero and the henchman is about to shoot Washington, the corpse on the floor springs to life, blocks the bullet, opens the gate, then runs away in reverse. Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024 But that alone won’t be enough, especially as AI use ticks up. Naureen S. Malik, Fortune, 25 Feb. 2024 However, Utah is just 1-5 on the road this season, a tick better than Colorado’s 1-6 record. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2024
Verb
As demand has ticked up, particularly among older adults eager to stay active later in life, Backroads has grown their fleet of e-bikes to more than 4,500. Erin Gifford, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2024 The pace of sales has ticked up, reaching a high last year, according to Ziegler Investment Banking. Harris Meyer, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024 However, with the program's future threatened by budget standoffs, Congress faced a ticking clock to extend its lifeline. Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 11 Mar. 2024 Mortgage rates ticked higher for most of February as stronger-than-expected reports on inflation and the economy fueled speculation among bond investors that the Federal Reserve would have to hold off on cutting interest rates longer than expected. Alex Veiga, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 The average late fee charged by large card companies ticked up from $23 in 2010 to $32 in 2022. Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 The hostility from the customer and the food store workers was becoming more overt as the minutes ticked by. Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 Fresh data from Apartment List shows that rents fell for six consecutive months before ticking up slightly in February. Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 Mortgage rates had been ticking down but are now going in the other direction since the economy is showing strong signs of a soft landing and not a recession. Catherine Reagor, The Arizona Republic, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tick.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English tek pat, light stroke; akin to Middle High German zic light push

Noun (2)

Middle English tyke, teke; akin to Middle High German zeche tick, Armenian tiz

Noun (3)

Middle English tike, probably from Middle Dutch (akin to Old High German ziahha tick), from Latin theca cover, from Greek thēkē case; akin to Greek tithenai to place — more at do

Noun (4)

short for ticket entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1721, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (4)

1642, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tick was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near tick

Cite this Entry

“Tick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tick. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tick

1 of 5 noun
: any of numerous bloodsucking invertebrates that are arachnids larger than the related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded animals to feed, and include important carriers of infectious diseases

tick

2 of 5 noun
1
: the fabric case of a mattress, pillow, or cushion
2

tick

3 of 5 noun
1
: a light rhythmic tap or beat
the tick of a clock
2
: a small mark used to direct attention to something or to check an item on a list

tick

4 of 5 verb
1
a
: to make the sound of a tick or a series of ticks
b
: to mark, count, or announce by or as if by ticking beats
2
: to work at a regular or proper pace : run
3
: to mark with a written tick : check

tick

5 of 5 noun
: credit entry 1 sense 3a, trust
bought on tick
Etymology

Noun

Middle English tyke, teke "tick"

Noun

Middle English tike "a fabric case for a mattress"; probably of Dutch origin

Noun

Middle English tek "a rhythmic tap or beat"

Noun

a shortened form of ticket "a slip recording a business deal"

Medical Definition

tick

noun
1
: any of numerous bloodsucking arachnids that constitute the acarine superfamily Ixodoidea, are much larger than the closely related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded vertebrates to feed, include important vectors of various infectious diseases of humans and lower animals, and although the immature larva has but six legs, may be readily distinguished from an insect by the complete lack of external segmentation
2
: any of various usually wingless parasitic dipteran flies (as the sheep ked)

More from Merriam-Webster on tick

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!