NICKS Synonyms: 168 Similar and Opposite Words

nicks 1 of 2

noun

plural of nick

as in chips

a V-shaped cut usually on an edge or a surface I made a nick in the frame when I accidentally dropped it

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Relevance

as in jails

British slang a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody the blokes at the pub traded stories of nights spent in the nick after having lifted too many pints

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outsides

nicks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of nick, British slang

as in steals

to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep that lorry was a piece of rubbish, I don't know why anyone would want to nick it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in arrests

to take or keep under one's control by authority of law a petty thief who was always getting nicked for picking the pockets of tourists outside Buckingham Palace

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of nicks

Noun

Some cabinets require sanding, filling small nicks and dings, sanding again to smooth the patch material, and adding coats of filler just to get the cabinets ready to be taped off and to apply the primer. — Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 6 July 2026 The handle comes with one original Athena Club cartridge, which has a skin guard to prevent nicks and a hyaluronic acid serum strip. — Sara Coughlin, Allure, 5 July 2026 Stay away from cucumbers with any bruising or nicks in the skin because these can lead to deterioration. — Aly Walansky, Southern Living, 2 July 2026 In addition to keeping your drink close and your hands empty during your daily activities, the water bottle holder protects your water bottle from nicks and dings. — Clint Davis, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026 Be sure that the jars are free of nicks and cracks, and the lids aren't dented or rusted. — Martha Stewart, 12 June 2026 Minimal nicks can typically be removed by sharpening the blades, but serious damage may necessitate a blade replacement. — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2026 Up and down rosters everywhere, nicks, bruises, tears, strains and sprains continue wreaking havoc on our fantasy rosters. — John Laghezza, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026 Edges at the perimeter of the card are observed to see if there are any nicks or marks on the back or front. — Kate Perez, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026

Verb

Base editing, the process used to make the changes, only nicks one strand of DNA, avoiding the major DNA errors that made CRISPR unsafe. — Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post, 25 June 2026 That means a ball that nicks a sliver of the plate at the front and then dives into the dirt will not be called a strike by ABS. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Mar. 2026 Mora strikesout swinging, and Qualia gets Carson on a breaking ball that nicks the corner of the zone. — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 24 Feb. 2026 In the book, the protagonist Jonathan Harker nicks himself with a razor and senses Dracula’s rapt attention. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025 If the surgeon accidently nicks a vein or cuts through a tumor in a way that causes a leakage of cancerous cells, the recovery mode is to undock the robot rapidly, cut the patient open, and fix the problem the old-fashioned way. — IEEE Spectrum, 5 July 2022

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nicks

Noun

Its chips are particularly well-suited for the increasing inference segment of AI, offering energy efficiency and bypassing critical manufacturing bottlenecks.

— Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips.

— ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026

Definition of chips

Noun

The Sandra Bland Act signed into law in 2017 requires that county jails help get inmates with mental health and substance abuse issues treatment, and help expedite the bailing process for those who meet these requirements.

— Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 July 2026
Today, there are more than sixty thousand people in ICE jails across the country, up from thirty-nine thousand in January, 2025.

— Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Definition of jails

Verb

John Legend steals the show at the 2026 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 9.

— People Staff, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
Adebayo ranks second in franchise history in all-time points scored (10,391 points) and total rebounds grabbed (5,756 rebounds), third in all-time assists (2,276 assists) and steals (693), and fifth in all-time blocks (538 blocks).

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 11 July 2026

Definition of steals

Verb

Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Devlin throws a punch at Stone when the chief arrests him for drunken driving.

— Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026

Definition of arrests

Noun

Politicians and candidates want to build prisons there (as if this were a solution).

— Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
Widdecombe was in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving in roles including prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026

Definition of prisons

Verb

Shields' younger daughter inherited her love of fashion and regularly swipes designer pieces from her closet.

— Francesca Gariano, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026
Geomagnetic conditions are expected to intensify late tonight into early tomorrow, if the CME swipes Earth, according to the latest forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

— Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 12 May 2026

Definition of swipes

Verb

Rhaenyra, queen of the Blacks, seizes the Iron Throne in King’s Landing with the support of Alicent, who has simply had enough of her unstable and terrible sons.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026
Trump seizes America’s 250th-birthday spotlight, headlining the Great American State Fair, hosting a UFC bout at the White House and promoting new passports, $250 bills and coins bearing his image.

— Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026

Definition of seizes

Noun

Hodge says he was abused in multiple federal penitentiaries, but was frequently blocked from filing complaints about it.

— Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026
This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador.

— Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026