noun
system of signalling by hand signs used by bookmakers at racetracks
• Regions: ↑United Kingdom, ↑UK, ↑U.K., ↑Britain, ↑United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ↑Great Britain
verb
make a sound like a clock or a timer
-
the clocks were ticking
-
the grandfather clock beat midnight
• Derivationally related forms: ↑beat (for: ↑beat), ↑ticktock (for: ↑ticktock), ↑tick (for: ↑tick), ↑ticker (for: ↑tick), ↑ticking (for: ↑tick)
• Verb Frames:
-
Something ——s
* * *
/tik"tak'/, n.
1. a repetitive sound, as of ticking, tapping, knocking, or clicking: the ticktack of high heels in the corridor.
2. a device for making a tapping sound, as against a window or door in playing a practical joke.
v.i.
3. to make a repeated ticking or tapping sound: Sleet ticktacked against the window panes.
Also, tictac.
[1540-50; imit. See TICK1]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.