# nick

Pronunciation: say "NIK" /nɪk/

## Noun

1. A small cut in the surface of something.
   - Simple: A small cut on the outside of something.
   - _A single nick in the blade can make the knife tear tomatoes instead of slicing them._
   - _He came out of the bathroom with a nick on his jaw and a scrap of tissue stuck to it._
4. A particular place or point thought of as marked by a notch; the exact point or critical moment.
   - Simple: The exact point, or the very moment when something matters most.
   - _The goalkeeper got a hand to the ball in the nick of time._
   - _A last-minute donation saved the library in the nick of time._
5. Short for nickname: the name a user goes by online, especially in chat systems such as IRC. — Clipping of nickname.
   - Simple: Short for nickname: the name you go by in an online chat.
   - _Someone had already registered my usual nick on the network, so I added a number to it._
   - _The client highlights any message that mentions your nick._
6. Condition or state, often in the phrases in good nick and in bad nick. *(colloquial, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: The condition something is in, as in good nick or bad nick.
   - _The house needed a new roof but was otherwise in decent nick._
   - _After a fortnight of training, the squad is in great nick for Saturday's match._
7. A police station or a prison. *(slang, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: A police station, or a jail.
   - _After the fight outside the pub, three lads ended up at the local nick._
   - _He came out of the nick older, quieter, and determined never to go back._
9. In cricket, a slight deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often carried to the wicketkeeper for a catch.
   - Simple: In cricket, a small touch of the ball off the edge of the bat, often caught by the keeper.
   - _Replays showed a faint nick before the ball reached the keeper's gloves._
   - _A nick to first slip ended the opener's innings on the first morning._
11. In squash, real tennis, and racquetball, the point at which a wall of the court meets the floor.
   - Simple: In squash and similar games, the spot where the wall meets the floor.
   - _A drop shot that dies in the nick leaves the opponent nothing to hit._
   - _He spent the whole session driving the ball low into the back-corner nick._

## Verb

2. To make a small cut or notch in something, or to cut, scratch or mar it slightly.
   - Simple: To make a small cut or mark in something, often by accident.
   - _She nicked herself on a chipped glass while doing the dishes._
   - _Be careful not to nick the paint when you move the table._
3. To take something that is not yours without permission; to steal it. *(colloquial, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: To take something that belongs to someone else without asking.
   - _Somebody's nicked the last of the biscuits from the tin._
   - _He'll nick anything that isn't nailed down._
8. To arrest someone and take them into custody. *(slang, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: To arrest someone, as the police do.
   - _Plain-clothes officers waited outside the pub to nick him as he left._
   - _He got nicked twice for shoplifting before he turned eighteen._
10. In cricket, to hit the ball with the edge of the bat so that it is deflected only slightly.
   - Simple: In cricket, to touch the ball with the edge of the bat so it changes direction a little.
   - _Openers who nick deliveries outside off stump rarely last long against good swing bowling._
   - _The captain nicked one through the slips for four._

## Verb

12. To give someone a nickname or call them by it; to name or style them. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To give someone a nickname, or to call them by a nickname.
14. To make one or more crosswise cuts on the underside of a horse's tail so that the animal carries it higher. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To cut the underside of a horse's tail so the horse holds its tail higher.
   - _The dealer had nicked the gelding's tail so it would be carried high and showy in the ring._
   - _Few owners today would nick a horse's tail just for the look of it._
15. To hit at the exact point or the critical moment; to touch rightly or strike at precisely the right time. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hit something at exactly the right spot or the right moment.
16. In dice games, to throw or turn up a particular number; more broadly, to hit upon something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In dice games, to roll a certain number, or more generally to hit on something.
17. To fit or match something, as notches on two pieces fit each other; to tally with. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To match something exactly, like the cuts on two sticks that line up.

## Noun

13. In printing, a notch cut across the shank of a piece of type that helps the compositor set it correctly in the stick and sort it during distribution. *(dated)*
   - Simple: In printing, a small groove across a piece of metal type that helps the printer set it and sort it.
   - _The compositor set each letter in the composing stick with its nick facing up._
   - _Type from a different font often has its nick in a different place, so stray letters are easy to spot._
18. A nix or nixie, a spirit that lives in water. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A spirit that lives in water.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In genetics, a break in one strand of double-stranded DNA, the point where nick translation begins.
- (verb) In mining, to make a cut along the side of the face being worked.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4, 6–11, 13–17** — Its source is the Late Middle English noun nik ("notch, tally, nock of an arrow"), whose own origin is unknown. It may be linked to nock, the notch on a bow or arrow that holds the bowstring, but this has not been clearly shown. The verb seems to have been formed from the noun, even though some of its senses are recorded before the noun's. Look-alike Germanic words such as Danish nikke and German nicken ("to nod") or German knicken ("to bend, to break") have no clearly proven connection.
**Meanings 5, 12** — A shortening of nickname.
**Meaning 18** — A variant of nix or nixie.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/nick (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).