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

But this should not be a matter of ticking off the boxes to rush an execution of someone who has a real claim of innocence, and the Supreme Court should be very cautious about sanctioning an approach where the state is prioritizing speed over the cause of justice. —Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026

Midway through his Master’s degree in industrial design and entrepreneurship, Truls Brataas left his native Norway and took some time out to tick off items on his bucket list. —Jack Stanley, Vogue, 7 May 2026

Which brings us to Kyle Busch — who was really ticked off Sunday. —Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026

Rihanna was thought to be ticked off at the Met Gala Monday, when her longtime partner A$AP Rocky was seen talking to a woman, which the internet believed rubbed the superstar the wrong way. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 6 May 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