tick away/by/past

phrasal verb

ticked away/by/past; ticking away/by/past; ticks away/by/past
of time
: to pass or go by
Time is ticking away.
She became impatient as the hours ticked by.

Examples of tick away/by/past in a Sentence

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But as the minutes tick away, the chances of a ‘remontada’ (comeback) become slimmer and slimmer. Tomás Hill López-Menchero, New York Times, 14 May 2025 Time continues to tick by, which causes the three-time Masters winner to start stressing out. Savannah Leigh Richardson, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025 Sometimes, as the minutes tick by and her frustration mounts, Ekirch, 30, opens a meditation app on her phone. Lauren Sausser | Kff Health News, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2025 But a block downriver, Bourbon Street is bustling, catering again to the Sisyphean stream of tourists who, as the weeks tick by, are increasingly removed from the attack. Dakin Andone, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tick away/by/past

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Cite this Entry

“Tick away/by/past.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tick%20away%2Fby%2Fpast. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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