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

• 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

Andrea Ducas, the Center for American Progress’ vice president of health policy, ticks off a series of still unanswered questions that will affect college students on Medicaid. —Fiona Riley, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025

What’s up with that? I’m ticked off that the small Publix at Courtland Boulevard and Fort Smith Boulevard is chopping the decorative trees around the parking lot. —Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 July 2025

Bridesmaids visiting the bachelorette party capital became ticked off as bars burst at the seams with NFL fans, leaving little to no room for veils and sashes. —Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 19 July 2025

At a Cabinet meeting to highlight his administration's accomplishments, Trump then ticked off advantages and disadvantages for other candidates. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 9 July 2025

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