nick

The word “nick” means a small cut or notch in a surface, or the exact critical point or moment something happens. In plain terms, mainly a small cut or notch, but in British slang it also covers stealing, arresting, jail, and being "in good/bad nick" (condition).

“Nick” is pronounced nihk (/nɪk/ in IPA).

Here is “nick” used in a sentence: “There's a small nick in the edge of the blade.”

Depending on how it is used, “nick” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “nick” comes from Middle English. From Late Middle English nik ("notch"), origin otherwise unclear; the slang meanings for stealing, arresting, and police stations developed later in British English.

“Nick” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Nick” has 6 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a small cut or notch in a surface, or the exact critical point or moment something happens.

"In the nick of time" means at the very last possible moment, just before it is too late. Here "nick" is the exact critical point when something happens. If you catch a falling glass in the nick of time, you grab it a split second before it would have shattered.

Both are small cuts, but a nick is usually shallow, accidental, and thin — like the mark a razor leaves. A notch tends to be a deliberate, V-shaped indentation cut into an edge, such as the notches on a measuring stick. A nick is a flaw; a notch is often made on purpose.

As a noun, "nick" has two main senses. The first is a small cut, chip, or notch in a surface, such as a nick in a knife blade. The second is the precise, critical moment something happens, seen in the phrase "in the nick of time." Context makes clear which is meant.

A tiny cut you get shaving, a small chip on the rim of a plate, or a shallow gouge in a wooden table are all nicks. The word suits minor, often accidental damage — a mark noticeable up close but not serious enough to ruin the object.