tick off

verb

ticked off; ticking off; ticks off

transitive verb

1

: to make angry or indignant

the cancellation really ticked me off

2

: reprimand, rebuke

his father ticked him off for his impudence

Synonyms of tick off

• admonish
• reprimand
• get after
• blame
• scold
• get on
• criticize

Examples of tick off in a Sentence

she royally ticked the babysitter off for letting the child play outside unsupervised

it really ticks me off when someone says something like that

Recent Examples on the Web

With Liam Delap close to completing an initial £45million move from Chelsea, Nottingham Forest have ticked off another major box with the addition of a striker with physical presence and high potential. — Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Paper menus allow diners to tick off orders of lip-tingling laab, luscious khao soi, and juicy pomelo salad, feeling like a never-ending invitation to add just one more course. — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026

Each animal has a name prominently displayed outside their cage, as volunteers tick off their personalities. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026

Moments later, Hal is taking photos gleefully with fans at the taco stand as Stewart arrives, ticked off. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

tick entry 2

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tick off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff