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nicks - 3 dictionary results

nick

  [nik]
Use nicks in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small notch, groove, chip, or the like, cut into or existing in something.
2. a hollow place produced in an edge or surface, as of a dish, by breaking, chipping, or the like: I didn't notice those tiny nicks in the vase when I bought it.
3. a small dent or wound.
4. a small groove on one side of the shank of a printing type, serving as a guide in setting or to distinguish different types.
5. Biochemistry. a break in one strand of a double-stranded DNA or RNA molecule.
6. British Slang. prison.
–verb (used with object)
7. to cut into or through: I nicked my chin while shaving.
8. to hit or injure slightly.
9. to make a nick or nicks in (something); notch, groove, or chip.
10. to record by means of a notch or notches.
11. to incise certain tendons at the root of (a horse's tail) to give it a higher carrying position; make an incision under the tail of (a horse).
12. to hit, guess, catch, etc., exactly.
13. Slang. to trick, cheat, or defraud: How much did they nick you for that suit?
14. British Slang.
a. to arrest (a criminal or suspect).
b. to capture; nab.
c. to steal: Someone nicked her pocketbook on the bus.
—Idiom
15. in the nick of time, at the right or vital moment, usually at the last possible moment: The fire engines arrived in the nick of time.
Origin:
1475–85; obscurely akin to OE gehnycned wrinkled, ON hnykla to wrinkle

Nick

  [nik]
–noun
1. Old Nick.
2. a male given name, form of Nicholas.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To nicks
nick   (nĭk)   
n.  
  1. A shallow notch, cut, or indentation on an edge or a surface: nicks in the table; razor nicks on his chin.
  2. Chiefly British Slang A prison or police station.
  3. Printing A groove down the side of a piece of type used to ensure that it is correctly placed.
tr.v.   nicked, nick·ing, nicks
    1. To cut a nick or notch in.
    2. To cut into and wound slightly: A sliver of glass nicked my hand.
    3. To steal.
    4. To arrest.
  2. To cut short; check: nicked an impulse to flee.
  3. Slang To cheat, especially by overcharging.
  4. Chiefly British Slang
    1. To steal.
    2. To arrest.

[Middle English nik, possibly alteration (influenced by nokke, notch) of niche; see niche.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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