VocabauraVOCABAURA

notches

noun · verb

Form of notch , plural of notch.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

nahchuhz

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈnɑtʃəz

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. plural of notch

    A V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface

    “There were four notches in the handle of his revolver.”

  2. plural of notch

    Such a cut, used for keeping a record.

  3. plural of notch

    A V-shaped cut.

  4. plural of notch

    A small cut

verb

  1. third-person singular of notch

    Cut or make a notch into

  2. third-person singular of notch

    Notch a surface to record something

  3. third-person singular of notch

    To record (a score or similar) by making notches on something.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface

Used this way, notches is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“There were four notches in the handle of his revolver.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Usage note

It most often appears in the pattern “notches in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.

Natural pattern: notches in …

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “notches”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

two notchesnotches cutdeep notchesthree notchessmall notchesside notchesshaped notchescutting notches

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • notchverbBase word

    Cut or make a notch into.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “notches” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

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.