tick away/by/past
phrasal verb
ticked away/by/past; ticking away/by/past; ticks away/by/past
of time
: to pass or go by
Time is ticking away.
She became impatient as the hours ticked by.
Examples of tick away/by/past in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As days tick by with no word on an exit, Yulia’s messages are increasingly despairing.
—
Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024
As the years tick by without the passage of aid-in-dying legislation, those who have passed or are still suffering weigh on Hammerberg’s heart.
—Alison Cross, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2024
Ayn Rand, one presumes, would heartily approve — as the long minutes tick by.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2022
As the months tick by, collaborators’ frustration grows.
—Elias Leight, Billboard, 15 Feb. 2024
Haley gaining some ground with just weeks to go
As the weeks tick by for Haley to make her pitch to voters, her support has been ticking up in Iowa and across the country, 538's polling average shows.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 4 Dec. 2023
At the same time, frustration and anger at the pace of the response has been growing as the days tick by, said Braggins.
—Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2023
But there's no harm in asking because most of us know the sweat-inducing feeling of standing there watching someone struggle to take their laptop out of their carry-on while the minutes tick by.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 9 Aug. 2023
The workers who had been processing ballots for hours gradually leave, the cohort of sheriff’s deputies assigned to keep the area secure dwindles, and all but two of those who signed up to be observers peel off as the hours between updates tick by.
—Blake Apgar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Nov. 2022
Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024
As the years tick by without the passage of aid-in-dying legislation, those who have passed or are still suffering weigh on Hammerberg’s heart.
—Alison Cross, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2024
Ayn Rand, one presumes, would heartily approve — as the long minutes tick by.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2022
As the months tick by, collaborators’ frustration grows.
—Elias Leight, Billboard, 15 Feb. 2024
Haley gaining some ground with just weeks to go
As the weeks tick by for Haley to make her pitch to voters, her support has been ticking up in Iowa and across the country, 538's polling average shows.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 4 Dec. 2023
At the same time, frustration and anger at the pace of the response has been growing as the days tick by, said Braggins.
—Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2023
But there's no harm in asking because most of us know the sweat-inducing feeling of standing there watching someone struggle to take their laptop out of their carry-on while the minutes tick by.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 9 Aug. 2023
The workers who had been processing ballots for hours gradually leave, the cohort of sheriff’s deputies assigned to keep the area secure dwindles, and all but two of those who signed up to be observers peel off as the hours between updates tick by.
—Blake Apgar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tick away/by/past.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Tick away/by/past.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tick%20away%2Fby%2Fpast. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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