make tick
make tick · makes tick · made tick · making tick
To cause someone or something to operate the way it doesTo cause someone or something to operate the way it does.
» What makes Tom tick?
CM · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(colloquial)To cause someone or something to operate the way it does.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, tick.
Examples
8 sentencesWhat makes Tom tick?
Bruno kept making the ticking noise.
I just can't work out what makes Tom tick.
ruЯ никак не могу разобраться, что же движет Томом. — Inego
Bruno was making a ticking noise to call his cat.
Bruno makes this ticking noise when he calls his cat.
Origin
An allusion to the workings of a clock making it operate with a ticking noise.An allusion to the workings of a clock making it operate with a ticking noise.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
makes tick, making tick, made tick, made tick| Base form | make tick · to make tick |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | makes tick |
| Present participle | making tick |
| Past simple | made tick |
| Past participle | made tick |
irregular · Lesson
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle