tick-tock
1
3.3
- noun
- /ˈtɪkˌtɑk/
:
tic-tac
- After Ralphie turned off the lights, everything in the house was still, except the tick-tock of the clock downstairs in the hall.
- the tick-tock of the clock
Examples
-
The tick-tock of the clock grew louder as the meeting went on.
-
When I shook my head, she walked with a tick-tock of little heels over to the door and closed it.
Fiction book (1993) -
He walked through the living room, hearing only dying embers in the fireplace and the melancholy tick-tock of the grandfather clock.
Fiction book (1998) -
Above a writing desk, a large clock, adorned with two large angels grasping the wool of a goat, gave off a hastened tick-tock.
Fiction book (1993) -
TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK...
Blog text (5) -
Her heart raced with each tick-tock that echoed through the silent room.
-
Sitting in the quiet library, all I could hear was the soft tick-tock of the old wall clock.
Synonyms
27
1.2
A light regular tapping sound made by a clock or watch
5
5.9
A steady ticking sound like the one a clock makes
A steady ticking sound that a clock makes
How Repetitive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Tick-tock comes from the short sounds a clock makes, the two parts tick and tock, like a small 'click' and a soft 'thud'. So tick-tock reminds us of steady time passing and the regular sound of a clock.