A Nick

1. A small cut in a surface.
   1. (now rare) A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.

1. 2. (printing, dated) A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.
2. Senses connoting something small.
   1. (cricket) A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch.
   2. (genetics) One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation.
   3. (real tennis, squash, racquetball) The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.
3. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial) Often in the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.
4. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, law enforcement, slang) A police station or prison.

Usage notes

• The sense "a particular place or point" or "a critical moment" still exists in the still-common expression in the nick of time.