Definition of nick
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: a small notch, groove, or chip
For one thing, formal chairs, beds and tables require greater vigilance on the part of the owners to protect against nicks and spills.— Sarah Collins
b
: a small cut or wound
got a few nicks from shaving
c
: a break in one strand of two-stranded DNA caused by a missing phosphodiester bond
2
: a final critical moment
in the nick of time
3
British, informal
: prison
also
: police station
… he said to me, "And how was it in the nick? Did they beat you in there at all?" — Colin MacInnes
nick
verb
nicked; nicking; nicks
Definition of nick (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to jot down : record
b
: to cut into or wound slightly
nicked himself shaving I didn't have time to get my glove up, and the ball nicked my ear as it went past me.— Steve Wulf
3
: to cut short
cold weather, which nicked steel and automobile output — Time
4
: to catch at the right point or time
5
: cheat, overcharge
"A cry of anguish ascended to high heavens," reported Business Week in 1933, "when millions of white-collar workers discovered that they had been nicked for a considerable percentage of their earnings when J. P. Morgan and partners had paid no income tax at all."— Cynthia Crossen
6a
British slang
: arrest
The new owner, my brother, had installed all the window grilles and had them wired on a direct alarm to the police station so that if anyone tried to enter that way they would be nicked.— Dick Francis
b
British slang
: steal
To discover at the last moment that 24 cases of Schweppes had been nicked from the cellar was a horrible shock. — Sunday Times
1
: to make petty attacks : snipe
2
: to complement one another genetically and produce superior offspring
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for nick
The first known use of nick was in the 15th century
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