Library / English Dictionary

NICK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small cut

Synonyms:

nick; notch; snick

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("nick" is a kind of...):

cut; cutting (the act of penetrating or opening open with a sharp edge)

Derivation:

nick (cut a nick into)

nick (cut slightly, with a razor)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(British slang) a prison

Example:

he's in the nick

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("nick" is a kind of...):

prison; prison house (a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Domain usage:

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

dent; ding; gouge; nick

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("nick" is a kind of...):

blemish; defect; mar (a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nick"):

dig (a small gouge (as in the cover of a book))

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Mate successfully; of livestock

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "nick" is one way to...):

copulate; couple; mate; pair (engage in sexual intercourse)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Divide or reset the tail muscles of

Example:

nick horses

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "nick" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cut a nick into

Synonyms:

chip; nick

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "nick" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

nick (a small cut)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Cut slightly, with a razor

Example:

The barber's knife nicked his cheek

Synonyms:

nick; snick

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "nick" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

nick (a small cut)

Credits

 Context examples: 

But during an average day, parts of your skin may brush surfaces in stores, elevators, and restrooms; get nicked by a kitchen knife; be washed with rain; rest on a gym mat; and be slobbered on by a dog.

(Skin microbes fairly stable over time, NIH)

Large numbers of the resulting DNA nicks can be lethal to cells and serve as a jumping off point for the development of disease.

(Structural Snapshots of Damaged DNA, NIH)

Nick your arrow!

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You must know, with your wide experience of turf matters, Colonel Ross, that it is possible to make a slight nick upon the tendons of a horse’s ham, and to do it subcutaneously, so as to leave absolutely no trace.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Dorothy was shocked to see that the cow had broken her leg off, and that the pail was lying in several small pieces, while the poor milkmaid had a nick in her left elbow.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

This nick blocks the DNA repair machinery.

(Structural Snapshots of Damaged DNA, NIH)