tick

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tick1

▶noun

• 1 Brit. a mark (✓) used to indicate that an item in a list or text is correct or has been chosen.

• 2 a regular short, sharp sound, especially that made every second by a clock or watch.

  ■ Brit. informal a moment.

• 3 Stock Exchange the smallest amount by which the price of a security or future may fluctuate.

▶verb

• 1 chiefly Brit. mark with a tick.

• 2 make regular ticking sounds.

• 3 (tick away/by/past) (of time) pass inexorably.

  ■ (tick along) proceed; progress.

• 4 (tick over) (of an engine) run slowly in neutral.

  ■ Brit. work or function at a basic or minimum level.

• 5 (tick someone off) Brit. informal reprimand or rebuke someone.

• 6 (tick someone off) N. Amer. informal make someone annoyed or angry.

– phrases
tick all the (right) boxes Brit. informal fulfil all the necessary requirements.
what makes someone tick informal what motivates someone.

– origin ME: prob. of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tick2

▶noun

• 1 a parasitic arachnid which attaches itself to the skin, from which it sucks blood. [Suborder Ixodida: many species.]

  ■ informal a parasitic louse fly, especially the sheep ked.

• 2 Brit. informal a worthless or contemptible person.

– origin OE ticia, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tick3

▶noun (in phr. on tick) on credit.

– origin C17: appar. short for ticket in the phr. on the ticket, referring to a promise to pay.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tick4

▶noun a fabric case stuffed with feathers or other material to form a mattress or pillow. ■short for ticking.

– origin ME: prob. Mid. Low Ger., MDu. tēke, or MDu. tīke, via W. Gmc from L. theca ‘case’, from Gk thēkē.