ticks

noun

plural of tick
as in seconds

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ticks How to keep disease-carrying ticks at bay The best way to avoid ticks and tick bites is to be vigilant in your surroundings, Foley said, noting that ticks can transmit other diseases such as Lyme disease. — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026 Botts says some people like to remove or dispose of ticks with nail polish, fire and Vaseline — but there is a simple and effective method recommended for tick removal. — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026 Grow Scented Plants Groundcover plants can provide a sheltering spot for ticks and may not be the best choice for tick-prone areas. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026 Checking yourself and your pets for ticks every hour or so when in tick territory is also a good idea. — Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 4 June 2026 The ticks were then tested for five human disease-causing pathogens including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Lyme disease, hard tick relapsing fever and Powassan virus. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 9 Apr. 2026 Rich says the region is growing in both the number of ticks and tick species. — Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026 Of the ticks collected, about 3,500, or more than 65%, are the American dog (wood) tick. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025 This would either be an acaricide — a pesticide that kills ticks and mites, and is found in many pet flea collars and tick medications — or a vaccine that would make the deer more resistant to Lyme disease over time. — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ticks
  1. seconds
  2. minutes
  3. beats
  4. nanoseconds
  5. heartbeats
  6. winks
  7. shakes
  8. moments
Noun
  • After grabbing an early 83-81 lead in overtime, the Dream gave up eight straight points to the Fever, who never lost the lead in overtime again, although the Dream got within two points, 93-91, with 10 seconds left.
    — Micahya Costen, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Seattle pulled within a point, but Courtney Vandersloot sank the second of two free throws for Chicago (13-22) with 10 seconds left and Melbourne missed a tying layup at the buzzer.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of seconds
Noun
  • While there was no doubt who the better fighter was after 25 minutes of action, UFC analyst Joe Rogan thinks the champ made a mistake at the end of the bout.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Game time is coming more regularly now for the 16-year-old, having racked up almost 50 percent of his senior career minutes since the start of May.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of minutes
Noun
  • The Charles-and-Magneto dynamic is so titanic that this franchise generally, and X-Men ’97 specifically, mimics its beats with various other pairs of characters.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
  • That decline came despite beats on both earnings and revenue.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of beats
Noun
  • Power pulses scale Pulsed-power systems briefly store electricity before releasing it in an intense burst lasting about 100 nanoseconds.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 July 2026
  • Xona expects its satellites to eventually deliver a timing reference accurate to within 10 nanoseconds.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026
Definition of nanoseconds
Noun
  • Everything in the body runs in vibratory cycles from heartbeats to brainwaves to sleep-wake cycles.
    — Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • But the most striking of the new songs is the opener, a slow-motion unfurling against a backdrop of heartbeats and zithers.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 18 July 2026
Definition of heartbeats
Noun
  • It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
  • The new Scary Movie, from writer-stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans and director Michael Tiddes, opens with knowing winks to the 2000 original film, which featured Electra in a scene inspired by Drew Barrymore's opening scene in Scream.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026
Definition of winks
Noun
  • Bad Daddy’s previously offered a broader lineup of limited-time menu items that included desserts, shakes and appetizers.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 10 Aug. 2026
  • After a firm seal and a few shakes, the chicken is ready to fry.
    — Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of shakes
Noun
  • Domestic deployments have generally been reserved for relatively brief moments of extraordinary unrest, major security threats or natural disasters.
    — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • His family is now part of a program built for moments like that involving a simple tool that could save a life.
    — Noel Brennan, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of moments

Browse Nearby Words

tick off
ticks
ticks (off)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ticks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ticks. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on ticks

Nglish: Translation of ticks for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All