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| nick [ nik ] |
noun (plural nicks) |
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| Definition: |
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1. notch: a small V-shaped cut or indentation in an edge or surface
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2. small cut: a small cut on the skin
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3. printing groove on type: a groove on the side of a piece of metal printing type, used to identify and orient it
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4. U.K.
(
slang
)
Same as police station
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5. U.K.
(
slang
)
Same as prisonn (sense 1)
 He spent ten years in the nick.
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transitive verb (past and past participle nicked, present participle nick·ing, 3rd person present singular nicks) |
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| Definition: |
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1. notch or cut something slightly: to make a notch, indentation, or small cut in something
 The scythe blade had been nicked by a stone.
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2. U.S. cheat somebody: to cheat or defraud somebody
(
slang
)
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3. U.K. steal something: to steal something from its owner
(
informal
)
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4. U.K. arrest somebody: to place somebody under arrest
(
slang
)
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5. veterinary medicine incise horse's tail: to make a cut in the tendons at the root of a horse's tail to make the tail stick up
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| [15th century. Origin ?] |
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in the nick of time at the critical or last possible moment
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