Link Centre Dictionary

nick

UK/nɪk/ US/nɪk/ common slang uk
noun (2) verb (4)

noun

1.

an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)

Synonyms
2.

a small cut

Synonyms

verb

1.

cut slightly, with a razor

  • “The barber”
Synonyms
2.

cut a nick into

Synonyms
3.

divide or reset the tail muscles of

  • “nick horses”
4.

Origin

The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock (“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established. The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in Germanic languages such as Danish nikke (“to nod”), Middle Dutch nicken (“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutch knikken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German nicken (“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High German nicken (“to bend; to depress”) (modern German nicken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German knicken (“to bend; to snap”) (modern German knicken (“to bend; to break”), Old Frisian hnekka (“to nod”), and Swedish nicka (“to nod”), has been clearly established.

Phrases

  • in bad nick
  • in good nick
  • in the nick
  • in the nick of time
  • nick of time
  • nick off
  • nick point
  • nick up
  • on the nick

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.