Definition

1. Noun:
   • A cord in a candle or lamp: A loosely woven piece of string or cord, typically made of cotton, that draws liquid fuel (like melted wax or oil) upward through capillary action to the flame.
   • A surgical drain: A strip of gauze or other material placed in a wound to drain fluid by capillary action.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The candle's wick needs to be trimmed before lighting it.
  • The nurse inserted a sterile wick to help the wound heal.

Advanced Usage

• "To get on someone's wick" (British English, informal): To annoy or irritate someone greatly.
  • His constant whistling really gets on my wick.

Variants and Related Words

• Wicking (noun): The action or process of drawing moisture away from a surface, often used in fabric technology.
  • This shirt's fabric has excellent wicking properties to keep you dry.
• Wickless (adjective): Lacking a wick.
  • A wickless candle uses a different method to release fragrance.

Synonyms

• Candlewick: Specifically refers to the wick of a candle.
• Drain: A more general term for a device or material used to remove fluid, though not specific to capillary action.
• Tape: In a medical context, a gauze strip can be synonymous with a surgical wick.

Related Phrases

• "Dip one's wick" (vulgar slang): To have sexual intercourse. (Note: This is highly informal and potentially offensive.)

Related Idioms

• "To be at the end of one's wick": To be completely exhausted of patience or energy; at the end of one's tether.
  • After dealing with the children all day, she was at the end of her wick.

Noun

1. a loosely woven cord (in a candle or oil lamp) that draws fuel by capillary action up into the flame
2. any piece of cord that conveys liquid by capillary action
   • the physician put a wick in the wound to drain it