5 English Phrasal Verbs With 'TICK'

• Phrasal Verb List
• Exercises
• Search

What's covered on this page

5 phrasal verbs with 'TICK'

Tick along

1. Make reasonable progress without any serious problems
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: Things are TICKING ALONG at work while the director's away.

Tick away

1. Pass (of time)
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: The last few seconds TICKED AWAY and the team couldn't come back.

Tick by

1. Pass (of time)
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: The seconds TICKED BY and the team failed to score.

Tick off

1. Annoy
   (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
   
   » Example: She really TICKS me OFF when she doesn't reply to my emails.
2. Scold
   (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
   
   » Example: He TICKED me OFF for arriving late.
3. Put a mark on an item in a list when it has been dealt with
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: She TICKED OFF our names when we arrived.

Tick over

1. Continue working, but without improving
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: The company TICKED OVER while she was away on holiday.
2. Operate but without moving (engines)
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: The mechanic left the engine TICKING OVER for a while to see if he could see what was causing the problem.

Take our Exercise on 'TICK'