wick

WIK/wɪk/

Pluralwicks

Verbwicks, wicking, wicked

20 meanings of wick

Practice

1
candle stringnouncountable
The string in a candle or lamp that carries the wax or oil up to the flame. Also, this string material.
She lit the wick and the candle began to glow.
The old oil lamp needs a new wick.
UsageSay light the wick or trim the wick.
Note
2
carry liquidverbintransitive
To soak up liquid and carry it along, or of a liquid, to spread through cloth or other material this way.
Buy socks that wick, so your feet stay dry on long walks.
This towel wicks fast, so it dries you in no time.
UsageSay a fabric wicks sweat away.
3
absorbing piecenouncountable
Any piece of material that soaks up liquid and carries it along, like a strip of soft cloth put in a wound.
The nurse placed a small wick in the cut to help it drain.
A cotton wick carries water from the jar to the plant's soil.
Note
4
villagenoundialectalEnglandcountable
A very small village, or sometimes a town.
And by report, there vvere eight thouſand Gaules there ſlaine: the reſt abandoned the vvarre, and ſlipt every one into their ovvne vvickes and villages.
1600, Livy, “[Book XXXIIII]”
Similarhamlet, village
Note

Less common meanings

5
penisnounslangvulgareuphemisticcountable
A slang, indirect word for the penis, often heard in the phrase "dip your wick".
"All he cares about is dipping his wick," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Keep your wick in your pants," his mother warned before he left for college.
Note
6
nounobsoleteEngland
A piece of land with a fence, hedge or wall all around it.
Note
7
nounobsoleteEnglandUKYorkshireuncountable
Being alive, or being full of life and energy.
Note
8
noundialectalEnglandNorthern EnglandScotland
A small bay or narrow arm of water that reaches into the land.
9
noundialectalEast AngliaEnglandEssex
A farm, especially one where cows are kept for milk.
Wick Farm—almost every village has its outlying ‘wick’—stands alone in the fields.
1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Farmhouse—Traditions—Hunting Pictures—The Farmer’s Year—Sport—The Auction Festival—A Summer’s Day—Beauty…
10
nounEngland
In bowls or curling, a shot where your bowl or stone just touches another one and changes direction.
11
verbEngland
In bowls or curling, to send your ball or stone off another one at an angle.
12
noundated
In bowls or curling, a small gap between other bowls or stones that yours can just pass through.
13
noundialectalUK
A basket made of thin, bendy sticks woven together, often used for carrying fish.
14
noundialectalUK
Thin, bendy sticks used for weaving baskets, or things woven from them.
15
noundialectalEnglandUKYorkshire
The living bottom or root of a plant, especially a bit of weed root left alive in the soil.
16
noundialectalEnglandUKYorkshire
A maggot, the small worm-like young of a fly.
17
adjectivedialectalEnglandNorthern EnglandYorkshire
Alive, or full of life and energy.
18
noundialectalEngland
A corner, especially the corner of your eye or mouth.
She considered him. A fiery droplet in the wick of her mouth considered him.
1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada
19
noundialectalEngland
Short for wick-tooth: one of the pointed teeth near the corners of the mouth. Used only in some English dialects.
20
noundialectalEngland
A small group of trees, or a low place in the ground.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of wick apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–3, 5

From Old English wēoce (“wick”). The verb comes from the noun.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Wick derives from Old English wēoce, meaning wick. en.wiktionary.org
The verb wick derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 4, 6

From Old English wīc, a word for a home, town or village, probably linked to Latin vīcus (“village”).

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Wick derives from Old English wīc, which denoted a home, town or village. en.wiktionary.org
Old English wīc is probably linked to Latin vīcus, meaning village. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 7

Another form of the word quick.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Wick is another form of quick. en.wiktionary.org