notch

1 a V-shaped cut usually on an edge or a surface <lifted up the fence rail and positioned it in the notch cut into the post> Synonyms chip, hack, indent, indentation, indenture, kerf, nick Related Words joggle, nock, punch, snip; groove, score, undercut; slit, slot

2 a narrow opening between hillsides or mountains that can be used for passage <try to get through the notch before the storm blows in> Synonyms col, couloir, defile, flume, gap, gill [British], gorge, gulch, gulf, kloof [South African], linn [chiefly Scottish], canyon, pass, ravine, saddleRelated Words abyss, chasm, cirque, cleft, crevasse, crevice, cwm [chiefly British], fissure; combe (also coombe or coomb) [British], dale, dell, glen, hollow, shut-in, vale, valley; basin, floodplain, kettle; arroyo, barranca (also barranco), coulee, draw, gully (also gulley), gutter, nullah, trench, trough, wadi, wash [West]

3 an individual part of a process, series, or ranking <sales for the album increased, and it moved up another notch on the music charts> Synonyms chapter, cut, grade, inch, degree, peg, phase, place, point, stage, stepRelated Words angle, aspect, facet, side; amount, measure, plane; decrement, increment