WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tick-tack-toe or tic-tac-toe /ˌtɪktækˈtoʊ/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Gamesa simple game played on a grid with nine squares, in which one player marks X's and one marks O's.
tick-tack-toe
(tik′tak tō′),USA pronunciation n.
- Gamesa simple game in which one player marks down only X's and another only O's, each alternating in filling in any of the nine compartments of a figure formed by two vertical lines crossed by two horizontal lines, the winner being the first to fill in three marks in any horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row.
- Gamesa children's game consisting of trying, with the eyes shut, to bring a pencil down upon one of a set of circled numbers, as on a slate, the number touched being counted as a score.
- 1865–70; imitative of sound, as of bringing a pencil down on slate; see ticktack
'tick-tack-toe' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):