notch

noun

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\ ˈnäch

Definition of notch

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

notch

verb

notched; notching; notches

Definition of notch (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to cut or make a notch in

2a : to mark or record by a notch

b : score, achieve —sometimes used with up

Other Words from notch Synonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about notch

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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.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Emotions were already running high on an electric night at Flushing Meadows but were then ratcheted up a notch by organizers as a montage of Nadal's illustrious career was shown ahead of the trophy presentation. — Ben Church And Don Riddell, CNN, "Rafael Nadal reduced to tears after winning 'unforgettable' US Open title," 9 Sep. 2019 Semien ranks with the best two-way shortstops in the American League, and Crawford hasn’t hit a lick all year, and his defense (14 errors) has dropped a notch. — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Bridge series: Struggling Giants vs. high-flying A’s," 23 Aug. 2019 Intel is relying on its turbo speed and a new memory controller, which adds LPDDR4x support and pushes DDR4 support up a notch to 2,666MHz speeds for additional performance. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Intel announces Comet Lake, a faster, 10th-gen Whiskey Lake chip for mainstream laptops," 21 Aug. 2019 Instead of cutting a big notch out of the display for the front camera, Samsung sticks a camera behind the display and laser-removes any pixels that are blocking the camera's view. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "The Galaxy Note 10 launches with the biggest display of the year," 7 Aug. 2019 The Next Gen van takes design up a notch, with a fun teal, orange, and brown color scheme. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "Dapper camper van combines luxury with adventure," 5 Aug. 2019 Sansoucy had cut a notch to accommodate a backstage pillar. — Denise Coffey, courant.com, "Building A Set Fit For ‘Shrek’," 22 July 2019 Somewhere around 2006–2007, after the release of their album Black Holes and Revelations, things kicked up a notch and they were catapulted into A-list-band territory. — Tom Philip, GQ, "It’s Time to Admit You Love Muse," 5 July 2018 There are numerous swim meets in which youngsters can compete, but the level of excitement kicks up a notch when the Swim Fort Lauderdale International Classic takes place each summer. — Emmett Hall, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Youth swimmers make splash at Fort Lauderdale international meet," 30 June 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The two teams have faced off once before this season, battling out to a 1-1 draw after Alanna Kennedy notched an early goal in the opening 10 minutes of their match. — Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando Pride return to action on road against Seattle Reign," 8 Sep. 2019 Ryan Williams gave Athletic the early lead, notching his first goal of the season and the lone score of the first half on a penalty kick at 27 minutes. — Staff Report, courant.com, "Wojcik comes through in Hartford Athletic 3-2 win over Atlanta United 2," 25 Aug. 2019 Megan Carney also contributed eight points, notching three goals to go along with five assists. — Baltimore Sun Staff, baltimoresun.com, "U.S. advances to semifinals at under-19 women’s lacrosse finals," 8 Aug. 2019 The Americans breezed past Group F opponents, notching a record 18 goals and three shutouts in the process. — Tess Demeyer, USA TODAY, "World Cup 2019 quarterfinal: How to watch USWNT vs. France; Start time, TV, streaming info," 28 June 2019 Kaplan battled through the injury, missing several weeks of the campaign, but still notched 28 goals and 17 assists – a solid contribution to an offense that is run through the team’s main attack players. — Gary Curreri, sun-sentinel.com, "Broward girls lacrosse player of the year: Lizzie Kaplan, Pine Crest junior," 19 June 2019 Lauren Einan scored four goals in the second half alone for the Ponies to help power the comeback, and Annie McGuire notched five goals of her own. — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, "Girls lacrosse: Lakeville North gets redemption with win over Stillwater in state quarters," 11 June 2019 Much of their fine efforts came courtesy of striker Duvan Zapata, who notched no less than 23 goals and seven assists in their historic campaign. — SI.com, "Champions League 2019/20: All 32 Team's Confirmed Squads," 4 Sep. 2019 The New England attack is led by Carles Gil, who has notched nine goals and 12 assists this season. — Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City set for must-win home match against New England Revolution," 5 Aug. 2019

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.