ticking
ticking Lexical Profile
ticking Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Making a regular, short, sharp clicking sound, or figuratively counting down toward an inevitable event or deadline.
"The negotiators worked through the night against a ticking clock to reach an agreement before the deadline."
• noun
The regular, repeated light clicking sound made by a mechanical clock, watch, or similar mechanism.
"In the quiet study, the only sound was the steady ticking of the antique grandfather clock."
A strong, tightly woven cotton or linen fabric, traditionally patterned with narrow stripes, used to cover mattresses, pillows, and upholstery.
"The antique sofa was reupholstered in classic blue-and-white striped ticking."
• Rhymes for ticking
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
In the sense of a woven mattress fabric, 'ticking' derives from the noun 'tick' (a mattress cover), which comes via Middle English and Middle Dutch from Latin 'theca' and Ancient Greek 'theke', meaning a case or covering.