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notch

 - 7 dictionary results

notch

  [noch]
Use notch in a Sentence
–noun
1. an angular or V-shaped cut, indentation, or slit in an object, surface, or edge.
2. a cut or nick made in a stick or other object for record, as in keeping a tally.
3. New England and Upstate New York. a deep, narrow opening or pass between mountains; gap; defile.
4. Informal. a step, degree, or grade: This camera is a notch better than the other.
5. Metallurgy. a taphole in a blast furnace: iron notch; cinder notch.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cut or make a notch in.
7. to record by notches: He notched each kill on the stick.
8. to score, as in a game: He notched another win.
—Idiom
9. notch up or down, to move up or down or increase or decrease by notches or degrees: The temperature has notched up another degree.
Origin:
1570–80; a notch (by false division) for an *otch < OF oche notch

Related forms:
notchy, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To notch
notch   (nŏch)   
n.  

    1. A V-shaped cut.

    2. Such a cut used for keeping a record.

  2. A narrow pass between mountains.

  3. Informal A level or degree: a notch or two higher in quality.

tr.v.   notched, notch·ing, notch·es

  1. To cut a notch in.

  2. To record by or as if by making notches: notched the score on a stick.

  3. Informal To achieve; score: notched 30 wins in a single season.


[Probably from a notch, alteration of an otch, from French oche, from Old French, from ochier, to notch.]
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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Slang Dictionary
notch

  1. tv.
    to count up something; to add up or score something. : Well, it looks like we notched another victory.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

notch  (n.)
1577, probably a misdivision of an otch, from M.Fr. oche "notch," from O.Fr. ochier "to notch," of unknown origin. Not connected with nock (q.v.). The verb is from 1597.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: notch
Pronunciation: 'näch
Function: noun
: a V-shaped indentation (as on a bone) —see ACETABULAR NOTCH, SCIATIC NOTCH, VERTEBRAL NOTCH —notched /'nächt/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

notch (nŏch)
n.

  1. An indentation at the edge of a structure; an incisure.

  2. An upstroke or peak on a pulse tracing.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Idioms & Phrases

notch

see take down a notch.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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