notch

Etymology

Recorded since 1577, probably a rebracketing of an + otch, which noun stems from Middle French oche (“notch”), itself from the Old French verb ochier (“to notch”), of uncertain origin, but possibly related to French hocher and English nick (“small cut, notch”).

noun

  1. A V-shaped cut.
    1. Such a cut, used for keeping a record.
      The notches in that tribe's warrior axe handles stand for killed enemies.
    2. (US slang) Woman.
      These ladies from the west got game Who got the best, VA, DC, Georgia, New York, Texas, Louisiana, or Florida The Middwest got some super notches You eva seen Cali's finest, man, who could top us 2003, “California Girls”, in Married to the Game, performed by Too $hort
  2. An indentation.
  3. A mountain pass; a defile.
  4. (finance) A discontinuous change in a taxation schedule.
  5. (informal) A level or degree.
    This car is a notch better than the other.
    Can you speak a notch louder, please?
    a better team might also have done more to expose Uruguay’s occasionally brittle defence, but England’s speed of thought and movement in their attacking positions was a good notch or two down from the Italy game. 20 June 2014, Daniel Taylor, “World Cup 2014: Uruguay sink England as Suárez makes his mark”, in guardian.co.uk
    Your doctor is one of the nosiest asari I've ever met. And that's saying A LOT. She needs to take it down four or five notches, or I won't be long for this show. 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Ugh!
  6. (electronics) A portion of a mobile phone that overlaps the edge of the screen, used to house a camera, sensors etc. while maximizing screen space.

verb

  1. (transitive) To cut a notch in (something).
  2. (transitive) To record (a score or similar) by making notches on something.
    The tribe's hunters notch their kills by notches on each's axe's handle.
  3. (transitive) To join by means of notches.
  4. (transitive, informal) To achieve (something); to add to one's score or record of successes.
    The team notched a pair of shutout wins on Sunday.
    Jenkins booted a pair of field goals, Hopkins and George Nwokoji each notched a touchdown. October 21, 2010, “Panthers' football team”, in Portland Leader
  5. (transitive) To fit (an arrow) to a bow by means of the notch cut at the end of the arrow; to nock.
    Notching an arrow on the string of his tried and unerring bow, he raised his sinewy arms […] 1885, John Niles Hubbard, An Account of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, Or Red Jacket, and His People, 1750-1830, page 31
    As Uncle Bunse threw his armful of stuff into the canoe, half a dozen other Indians crept forward, notching their arrows to shoot. 1913, Massachusetts Reformatory (Concord, Mass.), Our Paper, page 530

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