1
a
: a light rhythmic audible tap or beat
also
: a series of such ticks
b
: the time taken by the tick of a clock : moment
2
: a small spot or mark
especially
: one used to direct attention to something, to check an item on a list, or to represent a point on a scale
3
a
finance
: the minimum amount by which the price of a security can move upward or downward
The minimum price fluctuation is called a "tick."—Gerald Warfield
also
: a stock market transaction at a price above or below the last previous transaction in the same security or the change in price that such a transaction represents
an upward/downward tick
The telegraph, and then the stock ticker, provided a number of advantages … . The ticker was named for its characteristic sound when printing; to this day, any movement of a stock's price is called a "tick." —Joe Janes
Note that I assume none of you plan to spend your golden years watching the market tick by tick and jumping in and out of stocks. —Barry Ritholtz
ticked; ticking; ticks
1
: to make the sound of a tick or a series of ticks
2
: to operate as a functioning mechanism : run
tried to understand what made him tick
the motor was ticking over quietly
1
: to mark with a written tick : check
—usually used with off
ticked off each item in the list
2
: to mark, count, or announce by or as if by ticking beats
a meter ticking off the cab fare
3
: to touch with a momentary glancing blow
ticked the ball
1
: any of a superfamily (Ixodoidea) of bloodsucking acarid arachnids that are larger than the related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded vertebrates to feed, and include important vectors of infectious diseases
2
: any of various usually wingless parasitic dipteran flies compare sheep ked
1
: the fabric case of a mattress, pillow, or bolster
also
: a mattress consisting of a tick and its filling
2
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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