nicked

Nicked is the past tense and past participle of the verb nick in British English, and it has several related senses. The most common meanings involve theft, physical damage, and arrest.

In its primary slang sense, to nick something means to steal it, typically a small or inexpensive item. Examples include shoplifting or taking a bicycle. In this usage, someone who commits the act is said to have “nicked” the item, and a person who is apprehended by authorities may be described as having been “nicked.”

A second sense refers to making a small cut or notch in something. If a surface or edge is nicked, it has a slight gouge or indentation, often from a minor accident or collision. This use is common in everyday descriptions of damage to objects, such as a wall, tool, or paintwork.

Nicked also appears in police and legal slang. To be nicked means to be arrested, typically for a minor crime, while “in the nick” or “the nick” is casual British slang for prison. These terms are informal and primarily found in the United Kingdom.

The word can carry informal or colloquial implications depending on context. In American English, nick is less commonly used to mean steal, and the phrases surrounding it may be unfamiliar or carry different connotations.

Overall, nicked as a term reflects multiple distinct uses—stealing, physical damage, and criminal detention—requiring attention to context to determine the intended meaning.