tick, ticking (noun)

a metallic tapping sound

"he counted the ticks of the clock"

tick (noun)

any of two families of small parasitic arachnids with barbed proboscis; feed on blood of warm-blooded animals

check mark, check, tick (noun)

a mark indicating that something has been noted or completed etc.

"as he called the role he put a check mark by each student's name"

tick (verb)

a light mattress

click, tick (verb)

make a clicking or ticking sound

"The clock ticked away"

tick, ticktock, ticktack, beat (verb)

make a sound like a clock or a timer

"the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight"

tick, retick (verb)

sew

"tick a mattress"

check, check off, mark, mark off, tick off, tick (verb)

put a check mark on or near or next to

"Please check each name on the list"; "tick off the items"; "mark off the units"

Tick

Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida. Along with mites, they constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites, living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. Ticks are vectors of a number of diseases, including Lyme disease, Q fever, Colorado tick fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, African tick bite fever, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Tick paralysis and tick-borne meningoencephalitis, as well as bovine anaplasmosis.

Tick

Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. The timing of the origin of ticks is uncertain, though the oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years old. Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates. Ticks belong to two major families, the Ixodidae or hard ticks, and the Argasidae, or soft ticks. Nuttalliella, a genus of tick from southern Africa, is the only member of the family Nuttalliellidae, and represents the most primitive living lineage of ticks. Adults have ovoid/pear-shaped bodies (idiosomas) which become engorged with blood when they feed, and eight legs. Their cephalothorax and abdomen are completely fused. In addition to having a hard shield on their dorsal surfaces, known as the scutum, hard ticks have a beak-like structure at the front containing the mouthparts, whereas soft ticks have their mouthparts on the underside of their bodies. Ticks locate potential hosts by sensing odor, body heat, moisture, and/or vibrations in the environment.Ticks have four stages to their lifecycle, namely egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Ticks belonging to the Ixodidae family undergo either a one-host, two-host, or three-host lifestyle. Argasid ticks have up to seven nymphal stages (instars), each one requiring blood ingestion, Argasid ticks undergo a multihost lifestyle. Because of their hematophagous (blood-ingesting) diets, ticks act as vectors of many serious diseases that affect humans and other animals.