tick by

Meanings

verbtick by (third-person singular simple present ticks by, present participle ticking by, simple past and past participle ticked by)

present singular third person ticks by · participle present ticking by · participle past ticked by · past ticked by

Synonym of tick past.
The minutes ticked by - nine, eight, seven. The screens behind both goals flashed up images of Scotland fans and their 1000-yard stares. Six minutes to play and Frantzdy Pierrot rises above Grant Hanley and nuts one just wide.
2026 June 14, Tom English, “Why Haiti v Scotland was antidote to the ills of world football”, in BBC Sport
Synonyms: tick past

verbSynonym of tick past.

Similar

Cite this entry

APA

tick by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tick%20by

MLA

“tick by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tick%20by. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tick by,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tick%20by.

Source: tick by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.