Meanings
tik1
- South Africaslanguncountablecrystal meth or speed.
Over a third of all people seeking rehabilitation in the second half of 2005 reported that their primary problem was tik.
2006 May 13, Weekend Argus, page 122 more examples
This Tuesday Special Assignment focuses on a deepening crisis in Cape Town. Many young adults and schoolchildren as young as 10 years are in the grip of a powerful drug called crystal methamphetamine – known locally as tik. It’s been on the fringes for several years but it is now catching on fast among the youth of the Western Cape.
2004 June 8, “On the Tik-Tik express”, in SABC News, archived from the original on 02 Jun 2006Hardly a week goes by without news of a crime bust of some kind involving one of the buses travelling cross-country, with everything from mandrax to tik, marijuana and abalone finding its way on board.
2020 October 10, Mike Simpson, “More seizures of drug consignments on long-distance buses”, in The South African, archived from the original on 01 Feb 2021
TIK2
- rail transportThe station code of Tiu Keng Leng in Hong Kong.
Origin
Early 21st century, perhaps imitative of the popping sounds made by meth being lit and smoked.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tik. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tik
“tik.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tik. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tik,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tik.
Source: tik on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.