to the quick

Meanings

prepositional phrase

To the level of living tissue.
Blood dripped from every finger-end, while the nails were broken to the quick.
1904, Jack London, chapter 39, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC
Very deeply; at one's most sensitive level of feeling.
Titus, I have touched thee to the quick.
c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]
2 more examples
This false evidence . . . stung me to the quick, and raised an indignation scarce conceivable.
1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 14, in Tom Jones, a Foundling
The powerlessness of the strong man touched my heart to the quick.
1837, Charlotte Brontë, chapter 37, in Jane Eyre

Cite this entry

APA

to the quick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20quick

MLA

“to the quick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20quick. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “to the quick,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20quick.