1 A2 neutral
(British English) To mark an item on a list with a tick to show it has been completed or acknowledged.
"She ticked off each ingredient on the shopping list as she put it in the basket."
separable
tick off
A2 neutral separable transitive
To mark an item on a list as done; to reprimand someone; or (especially AmE) to annoy or anger someone.
In plain English
To put a checkmark next to something you've finished, to tell someone off for doing wrong, or to make someone feel angry.
What does "tick off" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic informal
(British English, informal) To reprimand or scold someone.
"The teacher ticked him off in front of the whole class for not doing his homework."
separable
3 B1 idiomatic informal
(American English, informal) To irritate or anger someone.
"It really ticked me off when he took credit for all my hard work."
“
That kind of thing ticks me off.
— Common informal American expression; representative usage noted across popular media including sitcoms such as 'Seinfeld' and 'Friends'
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To place a tick (checkmark) next to an item — transparent for the list sense.
Actually means
To put a checkmark next to something you've finished, to tell someone off for doing wrong, or to make someone feel angry.
Usage tip
'Tick off' meaning to mark a list item is primarily British English; Americans say 'check off'. 'Tick off' meaning to reprimand is British informal. 'Tick off' meaning to annoy is primarily American English (e.g. 'That really ticked me off'). Context usually makes the intended sense clear.
Words that pair with "tick off"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
list item box name task someone
How to conjugate "tick off"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
tick off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
ticks off
he/she/it
Past simple
ticked off
yesterday
Past participle
ticked off
have + pp
-ing form
ticking off
continuous
Hear "tick off" in the wild
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Other ways to say "tick off"
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