1
a
: a small notch, groove, or chip
For one thing, formal chairs, beds and tables require greater vigilance on the part of the owners to protect against nicks and spills.—Sarah Collins
b
: a small cut or wound
got a few nicks from shaving
c
: a break in one strand of two-stranded DNA caused by a missing phosphodiester bond
2
: a final critical moment
in the nick of time
3
British, informal
: prison
also
: police station
… he said to me, "And how was it in the nick? Did they beat you in there at all?" —Colin MacInnes
4
British, informal
: condition
in good nick
nicked; nicking; nicks
1
: to jot down : record
2
b
: to cut into or wound slightly
nicked himself shaving
I didn't have time to get my glove up, and the ball nicked my ear as it went past me.—Steve Wulf
3
: to cut short
cold weather, which nicked steel and automobile output—Time
4
: to catch at the right point or time
5
: cheat, overcharge
"A cry of anguish ascended to high heavens," reported Business Week in 1933, "when millions of white-collar workers discovered that they had been nicked for a considerable percentage of their earnings when J. P. Morgan and partners had paid no income tax at all."—Cynthia Crossen
6
a
British slang
: arrest
The new owner, my brother, had installed all the window grilles and had them wired on a direct alarm to the police station so that if anyone tried to enter that way they would be nicked.—Dick Francis
b
British slang
: steal
To discover at the last moment that 24 cases of Schweppes had been nicked from the cellar was a horrible shock.—Sunday Times
1
: to make petty attacks : snipe
2
: to complement one another genetically and produce superior offspring
Cite this Entry
“Nick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nick. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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