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

Visitors pore over maps of national parks and game reserves, hoping to tick off each species before flying home. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first-round loss to UCLA, the realization of its finality began to settle in. — Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 July 2026

Lastly, tick off five small tasks that will take little time and concentration. — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 June 2026

Getting through the group stage ticked off one box. — Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 26 June 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