notch
part of speech
noun (a notch, notches); verb (notch, notches, notched, notching)
meaning for a pupil
1) A small V-shaped cut in an edge or surface. tree →
2) A level or step on a scale: turn the heat up a notch. tree →
3) (verb) To make a notch in something. tree →
4) (verb, informal) notch up: to achieve or score: notch up a win. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life you tighten your belt by a notch, or turn the volume «up a notch». In history and stories, people cut notches in sticks to count days (tally sticks). In sport, teams «notch up» wins. Phrases: up a notch, top-notch (excellent), notch up.
examples
- He tightened his belt by one notch. tree →
- Turn the music down a notch, please. tree →
- The prisoner cut a notch in the wall for each day. tree →
- Our team notched up another win. tree →
- The cake was top-notch! tree →
- Cut a small notch in the stick to hold the string. tree →
- The tally stick had twelve notches. tree →
- He took the bow, and fitting an arrow to the notch, took careful aim and let fly. tree →
note
Countable: notches (add -es). «Top-notch» (informal) = excellent. In maths history, notches on bones and sticks were an early way of counting (tally marks).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «notch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.