nicked
UK/nɪkt/
nicked is the simple past and past participle of nick.
Adjective
nicked (comparative more nicked, superlative most nicked)
- Having one or more nicks; notched.
- Synonyms:
- jagged
- Stolen.
- Synonyms:
- lifted
- Captured (by police); arrested.
- Get yer trousers on, you're nicked.1974, Ian Kennedy Martin, Regan, spoken by Jack Regan (John Thaw)
- "Mr Punch," I said. "You're nicked."2011, Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London, Gollancz, published 2011, page 324
- Synonyms:
- apprehended, busted, collared
Meaning of nick
Verb
nick (third-person singular simple present nicks, present participle nicking, simple past and past participle nicked)
- To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
- I nicked myself while I was shaving.
- To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
- The itch of his Affection ſhould not then / Haue nickt his Captain-ſhip, at ſuch a point, / When halfe to halfe the world oppos'd, he being / The meered queſtion?c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
- The barbarous custom of docking and nicking the tail, and cutting the ears of horses, is too prevalent. [...] [I]n the loss of their tail, they find even a still greater inconvenience. During summer they are perpetually teazed with swarms of insects that either attempt to suck their blood or...1815, Henry Bracken, “Receipts. To Cure the Grease, Surfeits, Loss of Appetite, Cough, Shortness of Breath; to Purify the Blood, and to Fatten Tired and Wasted Horses. [Additional Information.]”, in...
- To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
- An Alluſion is as it were a dalliance or playing with words, like in ſound, vnlike in ſense, by changing, adding, or ſubtracting a letter or two; ſo that words nicking and reſembling one the other, are appliable to diffrent ſignifications.1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Allusions”, in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 140
- To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
- [I]t requires a Critical Nicety both of Wit, and of Judgment, to find out the Genius, or the Propenſions, of a Child, […] The Juſt Seaſon of Doing Things must be Nick'd, and All Accidents Obſerv'd and Improv'd; for Weak Minds are to be as Narrowly Attended, as Sickly Bodies: […]1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Æsop, &c.] Fab[le] XXXVIII. A Horse and an Asse. [Reflexion].”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC...
- To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.
- Two balls later, I nick one and it carries beautifully to Peter Bowler at first slip, a complete dolly catch, and he drops it.2013, Ian Botham, with Dean Wilson, “Steve James – Fine Dining”, in Beefy’s Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from On and Off the Field, London: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 145
Synonyms of nicked
Forms of nicked
| comparative | more nicked |
|---|---|
| superlative | most nicked |
Origin of nicked
From nick + -ed.
Words formed from nicked
Phrases with nicked
Words that rhyme with nicked
Questions about nicked
- What does nicked mean?
- Nicked means having one or more nicks; notched.
- What is nicked the simple past and past participle of?
- Nicked is the simple past and past participle of nick.
- What part of speech is nicked?
- Nicked is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce nicked?
- Nicked is pronounced /nɪkt/ (UK).
Words near nicked in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: nicked (page history and authors); nick (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-nicked.ogg.
Cite this entry: “nicked.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nicked. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
