TICK-TOCK Meaning of TICK-TOCK in English tick-tock /ˌtɪk ˈtɒk $ -ˈtɑːk/ BrE AmE noun [singular] [ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: From the sound ] the regular sound that a large clock makes every second Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Longman - Словарь современного английского языка. 2012