I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a clock ticks (= makes regular quiet sounds that shows it is working )
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There was no sound in the room apart from a clock ticking.
an engine idles/ticks over (= runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving )
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The taxi waited at the kerb, its engine idling noisily.
biological clock ticking
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career women who hear the biological clock ticking
ticked off
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Mark’s ticked off with me for some reason.
ticking off
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
box
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Then do the same for the team you wish to select - the tick box will then appear.
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For information about the degree programme, tick box BA91 on the coupon.
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If you prefer the idea of studying a single course as an associate student, tick box OO91.
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For more information tick box SOB90 on the coupon.
■ VERB
make
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What makes us strange creatures tick , Liz, do you know?
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Jody has thought a lot about what makes Red tick .
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You had to understand and project what made your character tick .
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The car made cooling, metallic ticks sitting there, giving off heat as I passed it.
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We never get a sense of why anyone is doing what he is doing or what truly makes anyone tick .
put
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Every time he had a tantrum she put a tick in the appropriate square.
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Sometimes Paul puts a tick next to Keith's name, and then Keith remembers a meeting or changes his mind or something.
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Paul puts a tick next to Keith's name.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Jeremy waited anxiously, listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Did you find any more ticks on him you know this is tick season, Mom.
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Do the pages of ticks mean that Fred is a genius or that the work was set at too low a standard?
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Most of the questions may be answered with a tick .
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No sound except the tick from the watch on Suzy's wrist.
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The tick of the Edwardian wall-clock bounced from wall to wall.
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The car made cooling, metallic ticks sitting there, giving off heat as I passed it.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
away
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It was half-past two, and the minutes were ticking away till Bobby Anscombe's appearance.
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The city Department of Public Works said it should be ticking away on time in several weeks.
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Henry sat in his chair as the seconds ticked away .
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Is there an institutional time-bomb ticking away ?
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The clock ticked away on the mantelpiece.
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As the seconds before impact ticked away , Poole and Bowman waited with mounting tension.
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Above their heads the clock ticked away the last thirty minutes of the old year.
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On top of this, the environmental time bomb that has been ticking away for years now seems ready to explode.
by
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And he seemed to be concentrating on his driving as a minute or two ticked by in silence.
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Soon the mornings would be cauldrons of mists, slowly rising and clearing as the mornings ticked by .
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At nearby Camberwick Green, life ticked by on the same orderly lines.
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I thought of the seconds ticking by , minutes wasted before I had to go back to the dang.
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Two seconds of silence ticked by .
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Time was ticking by , and she was heading deeper into the unknown depths of Plenty.
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Even in the capital, life ticks by with the rhythm of the rice-growing cycle.
over
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You can stay a long time in neutral, ticking over - provided nothing happens.
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These are worries that should be ticking over more or less constantly.
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The administration keeps everything ticking over .
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Michele had phoned ahead, and his sleek silver Mercedes was waiting for him, the engine ticking over .
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When the council's officers work as a team the whole work of the staff will tick over smoothly.
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The engine of the big mechanical monster was ticking over with the deep throb of impatient, reined-in horsepower.
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The church should resist the temptation to merely tick over .
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The Republicans and Democrats tick over with a skeleton staff and then hire specialist consultants for each campaign.
■ NOUN
clock
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The clock ticked up shillings inexorably.
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But the clock was ticking loudly.
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On the shelf above the hearth a clock ticked slowly.
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Even as the trajectory of his thought kept rising in the early seventies, the clock was ticking on his pet project.
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It's the men now, as often as not, who hear the biological clock ticking loudest.
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As the clock ticked down, Busuttil and his team went to work.
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The way Max's biological clock is ticking , it's a wonder Emma didn't call out the bomb squad.
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But as Strug was trying to deal with the pain, the clock was ticking and she had to make a choice.
minutes
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Pressing his ear to the edge of the door, he listened intently, while a full three minutes ticked past.
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It was half-past two, and the minutes were ticking away till Bobby Anscombe's appearance.
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The minutes ticked by, and the house seemed to settle for sleep.
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As the minutes ticked away towards noon, the bustle subsided and a quietness settled across the gathering.
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Rachel holds me as the minutes tick away in the darkness.
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With the final minutes of the term ticking away Mr Yarrow had called Murphy Senior and frantic talks had taken place.
seconds
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Henry sat in his chair as the seconds ticked away.
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As the seconds before impact ticked away, Poole and Bowman waited with mounting tension.
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Two seconds of silence ticked by.
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I thought of the seconds ticking by, minutes wasted before I had to go back to the dang.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
give sb a ticking off
the clock is ticking
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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As usual, there was a bomb ticking somewhere and James Bond had to find it.
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I find it impossible to sleep if there's a clock ticking in the room.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A strong interest in people and what makes them tick .
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But the clock was ticking loudly.
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Even as the trajectory of his thought kept rising in the early seventies, the clock was ticking on his pet project.
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He ticked off those he had just interviewed and wondered which of the rest ought to take up his time and attention.
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His mind noted this fact among others, ticking efficiently on like a water-clock.
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Try to figure out what makes him tick .
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Usually when you wonder what makes people tick you speculate about such things as their motives, attitudes and feelings.