Did you know?

Noun

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."

Examples of notch in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun As such, Metaphysic — the AI performance duo consisting of Chris Ume and Tom Graham — kicked things up a notch on Tuesday night (Sept. 13) with a deepfake Elvis Presley performance that featured the judges. — Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 14 Sep. 2022 The two sexiest words in the English language might be free shipping, but Sephora just took its Labor Day sale up a notch by also offering up to 50% off select skin-care, hair-care, and makeup products. — Deanna Pai, Glamour, 2 Sep. 2022 What ensued kicked things up a notch, and then progressed to a hushed close. — Stuart Munro, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2022 The pair took things up a notch with a few sultry photos of them posing together by the water. — Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 19 Aug. 2022 Electric Blue Front Door Blue front doors are a popular exterior color choice, but this electric shade kicks the intensity up a notch. — Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2022 The Colorado Trail Boss kicks it up a notch with a standard 2.0-inch lift and a wider front track shared with the full-blown ZR2. — Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 28 July 2022 Now that would kick their long-running feud up a notch. — Justine Browning, EW.com, 20 July 2022 Chanel took things up a notch, showing numerous styles varying in composition, from tight leather collars to hanging pendants, on many of the catwalk models. — Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 19 July 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb That works out to an 8.18 ERA, with Cease (eight innings, two runs) being the only one to notch a quality start. — Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 5 Sep. 2022 The large profits that drugmakers notch from successful drugs are needed to reward shareholders for their investment risk and encourage future investment. — Allysia Finley, WSJ, 15 June 2022 At this point in its life cycle, the only way for Tinder to notch significant growth is to look beyond the U.S. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 18 May 2022 Trailing 4-3 with less than 30 seconds remaining, Wiegert maneuvered to an advantageous position to notch a late takedown for a 5-4 victory. — Jacob Steinberg, baltimoresun.com, 26 Feb. 2022 On Cook’s watch, Apple became the first company in history to notch a $2 trillion valuation. — Andy Meek, BGR, 11 Mar. 2021 But the Hurricanes did notch takeaways on Frierson’s pick six and interceptions by safeties Kamren Kinchens and James Williams. — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 3 Sep. 2022 This weekend, the Oakland County fixture will notch its 25th edition, bringing more than 200 performers, 150 artists and 50 food vendors to downtown Royal Oak, with a four-day weather outlook that — at the moment — is mercifully free of rain. — Brian Mccollum, Detroit Free Press, 2 Sep. 2022 Strength of schedule will help the Eagles notch a few wins down the home stretch, but nobody cares who the dubs are against when Philadelphia punches its playoff ticket. — Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 26 July 2022 See More

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.