nick
/nɪk/noun, verb
nick is spelled N-I-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 39 times per million words in written English, the 2,523rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Nick, the name). People search “knick vs nick” about 210 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, nick means “A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nick is nicks.
How many letters and syllables are in nick?
| Letters | 4: N-I-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 39 times per million words; the 2,523rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nick?
Nick appears 39 times per million words in written English, the 2,523rd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Nick, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nick?
- US /nɪk/
Nick has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-nick.ogg, En-au-nick.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with nick
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: nic (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: knick.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with nick?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nick from its last stressed vowel (/ɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nick
- nicks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- nicking participle, present
- nicked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nick mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicA particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
in the nick of time
- 2
datedA notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.
- 3
A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch.
- 4
One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation.
- 5
The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.
- 6
CommonwealthIrelandUKcolloquialOften in the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.
The car I bought was cheap and in good nick.
- 7
CommonwealthIrelandUKslangA police station or prison.
He was arrested and taken down to Sun Hill nick [police station] to be charged.
- 8
Clipping of nickname.
a user’s reserved nick on an IRC network
- 9
archaicA nix or nixie (“water spirit”).
verb
- 1
To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
I nicked myself while I was shaving.
- 2
To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
- 3
rareTo make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
- 4
obsoleteTo fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
- 5
obsoleteTo hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
- 6
obsoleteTo hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.
- 7
obsoleteTo throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.
- 8
To make a cut at the side of the face.
- 9
obsoleteTo give or call (someone) by a nickname; to style.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nick in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Schramme , klauen, mitgehen lassen, klemmen, krallen |
| Spanish | mella , birlar , chirona, trullo , mellar |
| French | piquer , poste, taule, zonzon, gnouf, trou |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nick come from?
The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock (“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established. The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).