Definition

1. Noun:
   • A strong, durable fabric, typically of cotton or linen, woven in a tight, even weave and often striped, used especially for covering mattresses and pillows. This meaning refers to the material itself.
   • A repeated, light, sharp, metallic tapping sound. This meaning refers to the sound itself, often produced by a clock, timer, or similar mechanism.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Fabric):

  • The old mattress had a striped ticking.
  • She bought some blue and white ticking to recover the cushions.

• Noun (Sound):

  • The only sound in the room was the steady ticking of the clock.
  • I could hear the faint ticking of the timer in the kitchen.

Advanced Usage

• "on ticking": This phrase can describe the material something is made from.
  • The pillow was covered in sturdy ticking.

Variants and Related Words

• Tick (verb): To make a short, light, sharp, recurring sound.
  • The clock ticks loudly.
• Tick (noun): The short, light sound made by a clock or watch; also, a mark (✓).
  • Put a tick in the box.
• Tick-tock (noun): An onomatopoeic word representing the sound of a clock.
  • The tick-tock of the grandfather clock was soothing.

Synonyms

• For the fabric: None are exact, but related terms include heavy cotton, utilitarian fabric.
• For the sound: tapping, clicking, beating (of a clock).

Related Phrases

• The ticking of a clock: A common phrase describing the sound.
  • The constant ticking of the clock made it hard to concentrate.
• Against the ticking of time: An idiomatic expression implying a race against time.
  • They worked against the ticking of time to finish the project.

Related Idioms

• A ticking time bomb: A situation or person that is likely to become very dangerous or cause a lot of trouble very suddenly.
  • The unresolved conflict was a ticking time bomb for the company.

Noun

1. a strong fabric used for mattress and pillow covers
2. a metallic tapping sound
   • he counted the ticks of the clock