Meanings
ticky box1
plural ticky boxes · alternative ticky-box
- informalA blank square on a form in which a check mark or cross may be placed in order to indicate a selection.
At college I took a sort of ticky box approach to doing my work. I'd say to myself, right, I've done that, I've measured that, I've read that.
2006, Kay Sambell, Liz McDowell, Alistair Sambell, “Supporting diverse students: developing learner autonomy via assessment”, in Cordelia Bryan, Karen Clegg, editors, Innovative Assessment in Higher Education, Routledge, →ISBN, page 164
ticky box2
plural ticky boxes · alternative ticky-box
- South AfricaslangA payphone; Alternative spelling of tickey box.
They were trying to figure out how to call long distance from the ticky box.
2008, Paula Nangle, The Leper Compound, Bellevue Literary Press, →ISBN, page 96
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA blank square on a form in which a check mark or cross may be placed in order to indicate a selection.
Origin
ticky box · noun
From tickey (“South African threepenny coin”) + box.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ticky box. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ticky%20box
“ticky box.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ticky%20box. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ticky box,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ticky%20box.
Source: ticky box on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.