ick
noun
a feeling of disgust or repulsion
What does ick mean?
Ick, usually the ick, refers to a sudden feeling of disgust or repulsion that causes a permanent reversal in feeling toward a romantic (or potential romantic) partner. Ick is also used (often without the, as in “a list of icks”) for the cause of the disgust or repulsion itself. It is sometimes used more broadly for a feeling of disgust or repulsion outside of the context of romantic relationships.
Examples of ick
I love the scene where Jimmy realizes Gretchen doesn’t wash her legs in the shower, and experiences the ick in real time.
—Meredith Goldstein, The Boston Globe, 14 Feb. 2025
The causes of the ick range from the understandable — being rude to waitstaff on dates, disrespectful behaviour — to the downright niche. In a list of icks currently being circulated on WhatsApp, examples include: “Two phones on table,” “Grown adults on manual scooters,” “Spotify with ads,” “Coloured bed sheets,” to name a few.
—I got the ick from a friend constantly oversharing graphic details about her sex life, her partner’s body, her family trauma, her bowel movements. There was no limit to what she spoke about and it was all online.
—I understand the mention of leggings might give you the ick, but once you size up to accommodate your [pregnant] belly you’ll find that they won’t look like leggings.
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Where does ick come from?
Ick has been used in print as an interjection to express disgust at something unpleasant or offensive since at least the mid-20th century, and likely has been used in speech for much longer. Use of ick or the ick as a noun has been credited to an episode of the television show Ally McBeal that aired in 1998 in which the titular character tells her friend Renee that “Since he’s my boss I don’t want to go out with him just to get hit with the ick.” It was also used in a 2003 episode of Sex and the City.
How is ick used?
Ick is often used for a quality/behavior of someone that others might find trivial or unique as a source of disgust or repulsion. But as the song goes, different strokes for different folks, and so on and so on and shooby dooby dooby.
