nick
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A small cut in a surface.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nikIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A small cut in a surface.
An impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
Senses connoting something small.
A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.
ukirelandcommonwealthcolloquial
Often in the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.
verb
transitive
To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
transitive
To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
transitiveukirelandcommonwealthcolloquial
To steal.
Cut a nick into
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small cut in a surface.
Used this way, nick is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use nick
- “The barber's knife nicked his cheek.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Hard shiny grey seed of a bonduc tree.
Hard shiny grey seed of a bonduc tree.
Chief spirit of evil and adversary of God.
The legendary patron saint of children.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.