notch

noun \ ˈnäch \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Examples: notch in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of notch

1 a : a V-shaped indentation

b : a slit made to serve as a record

c : a rounded indentation cut into the pages of a book on the edge opposite the spine

2 : a deep close pass : gap

3 : degree, step

—

notched

play \ˈnächt\ adjective

See notch defined for English-language learners

See notch defined for kids

notch was our Word of the Day on 08/25/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of notch in a Sentence

Cut small notches at the corners of the fabric.
The tool has a notch for prying out nails.
The town is on the other side of the notch.
They turned the volume up several notches.

Recent Examples of notch from the Web

Meanwhile, Michel Jackson came within one notch of a second album with seven Hot 100 top 10s.

— gary trust, Billboard, "The 7 God: Drake's 'Scorpion' Is Just Fourth Album With Record 7 Hot 100 Top 10s, & First This Century," 10 July 2018
To take your wash of bronzer up a notch, reach for pots of color bright enough to outshine even the most radiant rays.

— calin van paris, Vogue, "Gigi Hadid Rules the Beach in the Riskiest Neon Makeup Shade Yet," 2 July 2018
On others, these top-end perks exist one notch down, in business.

— Fortune, "How to Fly the World’s Best Business Class for Less Than Coach," 26 June 2018
Last week, during a conference call, the city was informed of the bond rating being taken down one notch to Aa-1.

— karen pilarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "City of Brookfield approves conference center financing, but loses sterling bond rating in the process," 20 June 2018
Between 2009 and 2015 Moody’s cut the average credit rating of European power utilities by three notches.

— The Economist, "Markets may be underpricing climate-related risk," 23 May 2018
Faith in humanity can only tick up a notch or two when snuggling a puppy.

— lauren ritchie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Lake up next to shut down retail stores selling puppies, and Orange should do it too," 4 May 2018
Virginia ranks just a notch below California and Pennsylvania among the crucial states for Democrats to get a majority.

— dylan scott, Vox, "If Democrats want to retake the House, they need to win big in Virginia," 11 June 2018
The burgeoning high-quality, quick-casual restaurant trend stepped up a notch with the December opening of Dosa by Dosa in Oakland.

— michael bauer, SFChronicle.com, "Dosa by Dosa quickly takes fast-casual to a new level," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'notch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Occasionally, you might hear a child ask for a "napple," as in "I would like a napple," mistaking the phrase "an apple" for "a napple." A similar error is believed to be behind notch, which may have resulted from a misdivision of "an otch." (Otch is a noun that is assumed to have existed in earlier English as a borrowing of Middle French oche, meaning "an incision made to keep a record.") Notch would not be alone in developing from such a mistake. The words newt and nickname were formed, respectively, from misdivisions of "an ewte" and "an ekename." Going in the other direction, umpire first appears in Middle English as oumpere, a mistaken rendering of "a noumpere."

Origin and Etymology of notch

perhaps alteration (from misdivision of an otch) of *otch, from Middle French oche

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1560

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

notch Synonyms

Synonyms

canyon (also cañon), couloir, defile, flume, gap, gorge, gulch, gulf, pass, ravine;

dale, dell, glen, hollow, shut-in, vale, valley;

basin, floodplain, kettle;

arroyo, coulee, draw, gully (also gulley), gutter, trench, trough;

Other Printing Terms

epigraph, errata, leader, mechanical, tittle, underscore, widow

notch

verb

Definition of notch

notched; notching; notches

transitive verb

1 : to cut or make a notch in

2 a : to mark or record by a notch

b : score, achieve —sometimes used with up

See notch defined for English-language learners

Examples of notch in a Sentence

Notch the ends so that they fit together.
He notched his fifth victory this year.

Recent Examples of notch from the Web

Instead, the company sees it as a complement to its core stock brokerage service, which has already notched more accounts than conventional services like eTrade.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Robinhood Adds Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin in Push to Expand Crypto," 12 July 2018
The group has notched over 89 weeks atop Billboard’s Social 50 chart, besting Justin Bieber, and recently won Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards for the second year in a row.

— time staff, Time, "The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet," 28 June 2018
Prices have notched fresh highs as traders fear the amount of global crude supply could decline faster than expected, driven by harsh rhetoric from the U.S. government on Iran sanctions and a surprising drop in U.S. crude inventories.

— stephanie yang, WSJ, "Crude Prices Soar on Supply, Stockpile News," 27 June 2018
In his opening three games in this year's tournament, the Real Madrid forward has notched an impressive four goals - including a hat-trick against Spain on their opening night.

— SI.com, "Nike Commemorate Cristiano Ronaldo's Landmark Portugal Stat With Incredible Edicao Especial Boot," 26 June 2018
The competitive cloud coalition has notched some wins.

— naomi nix, Bloomberg.com, "Amazon Has Plenty of Foes in Pentagon Cloud Deal," 26 June 2018
Jackson and Ledo saw only a handful of NBA games; Kazemi has never notched any NBA minutes.

— sarah todd, Philly.com, "How Sam Hinkie and Bryan Colangelo managed the Sixers' draft 'Process'," 18 June 2018
The Edmonton Eskimos have notched a record 11 Cups (14 overall) during the CFL era.

— nate davis, USA TODAY, "The CFL: 10 things you (and Johnny Manziel) might not know," 24 May 2018
At European sites in Italy, Belgium, France, and central Europe, notched marks like these have been found on antlers, tusks and teeth, ribs, limbs, and other bones from reindeer, red deer, mammoth, and several bovid species.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "Early Middle-Eastern culture had a thing for gazelle scapula," 1 May 2018

First Known Use of notch

1581

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

NOTCH Defined for English Language Learners

notch

noun

Definition of notch for English Language Learners

: a small cut that is shaped like a V and that is made on an edge or a surface
: a narrow passage between mountains
: a slightly higher or lower level in a series of levels that measure something

notch

verb

Definition of notch for English Language Learners

: to make a small cut in (something, such as wood) : to make a notch in (something)
: to achieve or get (something)

NOTCH Defined for Kids

notch

noun \ ˈnäch \

Definition of notch for Students

1 : a cut in the shape of a V in an edge or surface

2 : a narrow pass between mountains

3 : degree 1, step

Turn the radio up a notch.

notch

verb

Definition of notch for Students

notched; notching

: to make V-shaped cuts in

Medical Dictionary

notch

noun \ ˈnäch \

medical Definition of notch

: a V-shaped indentation (as on a bone)

—

notched

play \ˈnächt\ adjective

Learn More about notch

See words that rhyme with notch Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for notch Spanish Central: Translation of notch Nglish: Translation of notch for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of notch for Arabic speakers

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notch

Definition of notch

notched

notch was our Word of the Day on 08/25/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of notch in a Sentence

Recent Examples of notch from the Web

Did You Know?

Origin and Etymology of notch

notch Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Printing Terms

notch

Definition of notch

Examples of notch in a Sentence

Recent Examples of notch from the Web

First Known Use of notch

NOTCH Defined for English Language Learners

notch

Definition of notch for English Language Learners

notch

Definition of notch for English Language Learners

NOTCH Defined for Kids

notch

Definition of notch for Students

notch

Definition of notch for Students

Medical Dictionary

notch

medical Definition of notch

notched

Learn More about notch

Seen and Heard

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