Tic or tick?
tic is a noun meaning “A sudden, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization”; tick is a noun meaning “A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida”. They sound the same (/tɪk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) tick is about 3.9 times as common as tic.
What is the difference between tic and tick?
| tic | tick | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, suffix | noun, verb |
| Meaning | A sudden, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization Something that is done or produced habitually or characteristically To exhibit a tic; to undergo a sudden, semi-voluntary muscle movement | A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida A relatively quiet but sharp sound generally made repeatedly by moving machinery A mark on any scale of measurement; a unit of measurement |
| Example | TICs must be admitted by a defendant in addition to the crimes for which they have been convicted | The steady tick of the clock provided a comforting background for the conversation |
| Forms | tics | ticks |
| Pronunciation | /tɪk/ /tək/ | /tɪk/ /tək/ |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words | 6.3 times per million words |
Sources: tic and tick in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of tic and tick
tic
- 1
A sudden, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization
- 2
To exhibit a tic; to undergo a sudden, semi-voluntary muscle movement
- 3
informalClipping of ticket
- 4
Initialism of tourist information centre
- 5
Forms adjectives from nouns ending with -sis, -o, or -a
- 6
Something that is done or produced habitually or characteristically
- 7
Initialism of tenancy in common
- 8
Forms adjectives from nouns ending with ‘-ism’, replacing this ending with ‘-istic’
tick
- 1
A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida
- 2
A relatively quiet but sharp sound generally made repeatedly by moving machinery
The steady tick of the clock provided a comforting background for the conversation
- 3
To make a clicking noise similar to the movement of the hands of an analog clock
- 4
Ticking
- 5
UKcolloquialCredit, trust
- 6
To go on trust, or credit
- 7
A mark on any scale of measurement; a unit of measurement
At midday, the long bond is up a tick
- 8
To make a tick or checkmark
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, tic or tick?
tic appears 1.6 times per million words; tick 6.3 times per million words.
tic 1.6 times per million wordstick 6.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search tic vs tick?
“tic vs tick” is searched about 590 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“tick vs tic”, “tic or tick”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.