ticks

Noun (1)

tick (plural ticks)

1. A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.
   • Sucking up all you can / Sucking up all you can suck and suck / Working up under my patience like a little tick / Fat little parasite (parasite) / Suck me dry / My fruit is bruised and borrowed / You thieving bastards / You have turned my blood cold and bitter2001, “Ticks & Leeches”, in Maynard James Keenan (lyrics), Lateralus, performed by Tool, Track 8

Noun (2)

tick (plural ticks)

1. 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.
2. A mark on any scale of measurement; a unit of measurement.
   • At midday, the long bond is up a tick.
3. A jiffy (unit of time defined by basic timer frequency).
4. (colloquial) A short period of time, particularly a second.
   • I'll be back in a tick.

   Synonyms:

   jiffy, sec, tic, bat of an eye, bit, blink of an eye, crack, eyeblink, flash, glimpse

5. A periodic increment of damage or healing caused by an ongoing status effect.

See all 23 meanings of tick