nicking

Nicking is a term with several related but distinct meanings in English, often centered on the idea of a small cut, a notch, or a minor irregularity, as well as on slang for theft and police procedures.

In British slang, to nick (verb) means to steal. Nicking something refers to taking it without permission, typically for petty or opportunistic theft. The phrase is common in everyday speech and varies in form to “nick” or “nicking” depending on tense. Relatedly, to be nicked means to be arrested by the police, and the police station itself is sometimes referred to as “the nick.” The expression “to get nicked” is informal and widely understood in the United Kingdom.

Another primary sense of nick is literal: to nick something means to touch, cut, or notch it slightly. A nick can be a small cut in flesh or a dent, or a small groove or indentation made in a material such as wood, metal, or plastic. The resulting mark is also called a nick, and the term is common in DIY, manufacturing, and repair contexts.

In addition to these, the word has usage in various contexts. In sports and other activities, nick can describe a faint contact or edge, as in a line edge or a near-imperfect strike. While slang usage dominates in everyday British speech, the standard meanings—small cut, notch, or a theft/arrest connotation in slang—are the most widely recognized meanings across contexts.