ticking

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A strong cotton or linen fabric used to cover pillows and mattresses.

   • Harvey saw with disgust that there were no sheets on his bed-place. He was lying on a piece of dingy ticking full of lumps and nubbles.
2. 2

   A sound of something that ticks. (For example, the second hand on a clock face.)

   • Were they indeed the tickings of a hundred clocks — the fine low inward breathings of Time's children!
3. 3

   An illusional style of dance where one moves his or her body to the "tic" of the music…

   An illusional style of dance where one moves his or her body to the "tic" of the music creating a strobe or animated effect.

4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      present participle and gerund of tick

      • a ticking time bomb
   2. 5

      A marking that occurs on some horses, involving white flecks of hair at the flank, and…

      A marking that occurs on some horses, involving white flecks of hair at the flank, and white hairs at the base of the tail, called a skunk tail or rabicano, sometimes referred to as birdcatcher ticks.

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