Standard Lemma guide

nick

name · noun · verb · 28 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /nɪk/
  • rhymes with -ɪk
  • homophone: nic
  • homophone: nick
  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /nɪk/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: Nick
  • CMU ARPABET: N IH1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A small cut in a surface.

A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

Examples

  • in the nick of time

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A small cut in a surface.

A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

Topics: media, printing, publishing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Senses connoting something small.

A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Senses connoting something small.

One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, genetics, medicine, natural-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Senses connoting something small.

The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: real tennis

Topics: ball-games, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports, squash

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Often in the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial

Examples

  • The car I bought was cheap and in good nick.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A police station or prison.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang

Topics: government, law-enforcement

Examples

  • He was arrested and taken down to Sun Hill nick [police station] to be charged.
  • He’s just been released from Shadwell nick [prison] after doing ten years for attempted murder.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

Clipping of nickname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, clipping

Examples

  • a user’s reserved nick on an IRC network

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

A nix or nixie (“water spirit”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • I nicked myself while I was shaving.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.

To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

verb

Meaning 13

To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.

To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

verb

Meaning 14

To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

verb

Meaning 15

To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.

To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, obsolete, sometimes, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

verb

Meaning 16

To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.

To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

17

verb

Meaning 17

To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.

To throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

Topics: games, gaming

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

18

verb

Meaning 18

To make a cut at the side of the face.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: business, mining

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

19

verb

Meaning 19

To steal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, transitive

Examples

  • Someone’s nicked my bike!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

20

verb

Meaning 20

To arrest.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang, transitive

Topics: government, law-enforcement

Examples

  • The police nicked him climbing over the fence of the house he’d broken into.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

21

verb

Meaning 21

To give or call (someone) by a nickname; to style.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

22

noun

Meaning 22

a small cut

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: notch, snick

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cut, cutting

23

noun

Meaning 23

(British slang) a prison

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he's in the nick

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: prison, prison house

24

noun

Meaning 24

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dent, ding, gouge

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: blemish, defect, mar

Narrower terms: dig

25

verb

Meaning 25

mate successfully; of livestock

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: copulate, mate, pair, couple

26

verb

Meaning 26

divide or reset the tail muscles of

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • nick horses

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

27

verb

Meaning 27

cut a nick into

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chip

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cut

28

verb

Meaning 28

cut slightly, with a razor

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The barber's knife nicked his cheek

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: snick

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cut

History

Etymology

The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock (“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established. The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in Germanic languages such as Danish nikke (“to nod”), Middle Dutch nicken (“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutch knikken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German nicken (“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High German nicken (“to bend; to depress”) (modern German nicken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German knicken (“to bend; to snap”) (modern German knicken (“to bend; to break”), Old Frisian hnekka (“to nod”), and Swedish nicka (“to nod”), has been clearly established.

Clipping of nickname.

A variant of nix or nixie.

Across languages

Translations

74 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 尼克 (Níkè) — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Esperanto: Niĉjo — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • French: Nico — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Greek: Νίκος (Níkos) — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Greek: Νικ (Nik) — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Romanian: Nicu — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Tatar: Niko — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Turkish: Niko — Diminutive of the male given name Nicholas
  • Afrikaans: snytjie — small cut in a surface
  • Czech: zářez — small cut in a surface
  • Czech: vrub — small cut in a surface
  • Finnish: naarmu — small cut in a surface
  • Galician: borcela — small cut in a surface
  • Galician: dente — small cut in a surface
  • Galician: galla — small cut in a surface
  • Galician: mela — small cut in a surface
  • German: Schramme — small cut in a surface
  • Italian: tacca — small cut in a surface
  • Italian: intaccatura — small cut in a surface
  • Māori: tongari — small cut in a surface
  • Māori: tokari — small cut in a surface
  • Māori: pakini — small cut in a surface
  • Russian: щерби́на (ščerbína) — small cut in a surface
  • Russian: зазу́брина (zazúbrina) — small cut in a surface
  • Slovak: zárez — small cut in a surface
  • Slovak: štrbina — small cut in a surface
  • Spanish: mella — small cut in a surface
  • Turkish: çentik — small cut in a surface
  • Finnish: käännekohta — exact point or critical moment
  • Finnish: näpy — (cricket) small deflection of the ball
  • Finnish: näpäys — (cricket) small deflection of the ball
  • Finnish: kondis — condition
  • Catalan: garjola — (slang) police station or prison
  • Finnish: naarmu — (slang) police station or prison
  • Finnish: putka — (slang) police station or prison
  • French: poste — (slang) police station or prison
  • French: taule — (slang) police station or prison
  • French: zonzon — (slang) police station or prison
  • French: gnouf — (slang) police station or prison
  • French: trou — (slang) police station or prison
  • Spanish: chirona — (slang) police station or prison
  • Spanish: trullo — (slang) police station or prison
  • Finnish: raapaista — to make a nick or notch in
  • Finnish: naarmuttaa — to make a nick or notch in
  • Galician: ataniscar — to make a nick or notch in
  • Galician: ermelar — to make a nick or notch in
  • Galician: esboucar — to make a nick or notch in
  • Galician: esfanicar — to make a nick or notch in
  • Italian: intaccare — to make a nick or notch in
  • Māori: pakini — to make a nick or notch in
  • Russian: надре́зать (nadrézatʹ) — to make a nick or notch in
  • Russian: поре́зать (porézatʹ) — to make a nick or notch in
  • Spanish: mellar — to make a nick or notch in
  • Finnish: näpäyttää — (cricket) to hit the ball with the edge of a bat
  • Finnish: näpätä — (cricket) to hit the ball with the edge of a bat
  • Azerbaijani: fırlatmaq — (''slang'') to steal
  • Azerbaijani: əkişdirmək — (''slang'') to steal
  • Finnish: pölliä — (''slang'') to steal
  • Finnish: nyysiä — (''slang'') to steal
  • Finnish: vohkia — (''slang'') to steal
  • French: piquer — (''slang'') to steal
  • German: klauen — (''slang'') to steal
  • German: mitgehen lassen — (''slang'') to steal
  • German: klemmen — (''slang'') to steal
  • German: krallen — (''slang'') to steal
  • Eastern Mari: авалткалаш (avaltkalaš) — (''slang'') to steal
  • Russian: ты́рить (týritʹ) — (''slang'') to steal
  • Russian: спереть (speretʹ) — (''slang'') to steal
  • Spanish: birlar — (''slang'') to steal
  • Swedish: norpa — (''slang'') to steal
  • Swedish: knycka — (''slang'') to steal
  • Swedish: sno — (''slang'') to steal
  • Thai: จิ๊ก (jík) — (''slang'') to steal
  • Finnish: napata — (slang) to arrest