Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to tick all the boxes

to tick all the boxes

1 3.9
To meet all the needs for a job or task
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : cumplir con todos los requisitos
  • For a vacation destination, this beach resort ticks all the boxes: beautiful scenery, great food, and plenty of activities.

And she's been looking for this Prince Charming when this individual is right here and he doesn't tick all the boxes that she thought.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The new software ticks all the boxes for what we need in terms of functionality and user-friendliness.

  • As the exhibition centerpiece, the world's first LEGO Colosseum ticks all the boxes.

    Blog text (10)

  • Oh, just the ticket! I can tick all the boxes there.

    Blog text (28)

  • For a 101, it ticks all the boxes.

    Blog text (8)

  • No surprises, Chile ticks all the boxes.

    Blog text (10)

  • I've been to India six times for work and holidays, and Kerala really does tick all the boxes.

    Blog text (13)

  • McGinley would be a fantastic Ryder Cup captain; he ticks all the boxes.

    Blog text (8)

  • It took four years of searching, but believe it or not, when we finally found the property that ticked all the boxes on the Wish List, we knew it immediately.

    Blog text (16)

  • I'm 90% confident that this will be the best AC game since 2, as so far it's ticked all the boxes of problems with Brotherhood and Revelations, both of which were under par in my opinion.

    Blog text (8)

  • When applying for the job, I was pleased to see that my skills tick all the boxes required by the employer.

Synonyms

to meet
vsto tick all the boxes
660 1.3

To satisfy a rule or need

requires compliance with every necessary criterion rather than compliance with only one
to fulfill
vsto tick all the boxes
  • US
265 2.8

To do what is required or promised

requires every necessary condition to receive full compliance rather than only one
to qualify
vsto tick all the boxes
264 3.0

To have or give the skills and conditions needed to join

requires compliance with every explicit criterion rather than general eligibility
to satisfy
vsto tick all the boxes
243 2.8

Meet a rule or requirement

requires full compliance with all necessary criteria rather than partial compliance
to fit the bill
vsto tick all the boxes
  • Informal
19 3.9

To be right for a specific purpose or need

requires full compliance with every necessary condition rather than mere suitability
to fill the bill
vsto tick all the boxes
2 4.0

To be right for a particular purpose or need

requires meeting all specified criteria rather than general or partial suitability

Antonyms

to fail
∞ 1.0

Not do something you promised or should do

How Complete

to tick all the boxes
  • Informal
1 3.9

Surface Forms

tick all the boxes infinitive
ticked all the boxes past
ticked all the boxes past participle
ticking all the boxes present participle
ticks all the boxes third person singular

Morphology

tick + all + the + box

The meaning 'to meet all the necessary requirements' is directly derivable from 'tick' (to check or mark as done) combined with 'all the boxes' (all items on a checklist), so the sense of completing every required item is compositional. This is a concrete, form/checklist-based metaphor common in many languages and everyday contexts, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will typically understand it.

Etymology

Tick all the boxes comes from the simple act of using a checklist: you put a tick, a small mark, in each little box when an item is done. So when something ticks all the boxes, it 'meets all the requirements' people want.