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Definition of 'tic'

Word Frequency

tic

(tɪk )

Word forms: plural tics

countable noun

If someone has a tic, a part of their face or body keeps making a small uncontrollable movement, for example because they are tired or have a nervous illness.

...people with nervous tics.

She developed a tic in her left eye.

Synonyms: twitch, jerk, spasm More Synonyms of tic

COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

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Word Frequency

tic in British English

(tɪk )

noun pathology

spasmodic twitching of a particular group of muscles

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Word origin

C19: from French, of uncertain origin; compare Italian ticche

Word Frequency

tic in American English

(tɪk )

noun

1.

any involuntary, regularly repeated, spasmodic contraction of a muscle, generally of neurotic origin

2.

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Word origin

Fr < ?

Word Frequency

-tic in American English

suffix

a suffix, equivalent in meaning to -ic, occurring in adjectives of Greek origin ( analytic), used esp. in the formation of adjectives from nouns with stems in -sis

hematotic

neurotic

Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Word origin

[‹ Gk -tikos, extracted from adjs. derived with -ikos -ic from agent nouns ending in -tēs; cf. hieratic]

Examples of 'tic' in a sentence
tic

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

It has been said that the wink was a nervous tic.They were really only a series of facial tics and funny voices.She also suffers from motor and vocal tics including swearing.It was like a nervous tic.Not least my sporadic facial tic.The next time we saw her, her slight facial tic had entirely disappeared.This is the book's main stylistic tic.Muscle spasms or nervous tics?He had no nervous tics.What are today's stylistic tics?

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tic

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tic

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tic

Source

Definition of tic from the Collins English Dictionary

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Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

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Score: 0 / 5

tic or tick?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

tic

tick

She developed a in her left eye.

bridal or bridle?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

bridal

bridle

The party was waiting at the house.

sauce or source?

Which version is correct?

I prepared a sauce of garlic, tomatoes, and cheese. I prepared a source of garlic, tomatoes, and cheese.

hangar or hanger?

Which version is correct?

The property has eight bedrooms and a helicopter hangar. The property has eight bedrooms and a helicopter hanger.

stake or steak?

Which version is correct?

The only thing on the menu was stake and kidney pie. The only thing on the menu was steak and kidney pie.

Your score:

Jan 08, 2021

Word of the day

fantasy

A fantasy is a pleasant situation or event that you think about and that you want to happen , especially one that is unlikely to happen.

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Scrabble score
for 'tic':
5

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

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Score: 0 / 5

hoard or horde?

Which version is correct?

They began to hoard food and save money. They began to horde food and save money.

knot or not?

Which version is correct?

One lace had broken and been tied in a knot. One lace had broken and been tied in a not.

gone or went?

Which version is correct?

I gone home at the weekend. I went home at the weekend.

gorilla or guerilla?

Which version is correct?

It was the beginning of a gorilla war. It was the beginning of a guerilla war.

flew or flu?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

flew

flu

The plane through the clouds.

Your score:

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