ticking
/'tikiɳ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- a strong fabric used for mattress and pillow covers
- a metallic tapping sound
- he counted the ticks of the clock