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Occasionally, you might hear a child ask for a "napple," as in "I would like a napple," mistaking the phrase "an apple" for "a napple." A similar error is believed to be behind notch, which may have resulted from a misdivision of "an otch." (Otch is a noun that is assumed to have existed in earlier English as a borrowing of Middle French oche, meaning "an incision made to keep a record.") Notch would not be alone in developing from such a mistake. The words newt and nickname were formed, respectively, from misdivisions of "an ewte" and "an ekename." Going in the other direction, umpire first appears in Middle English as oumpere, a mistaken rendering of "a noumpere."
Synonyms
Examples of notch in a Sentence
Laura Lu, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
Marco Mueller has been appointed artistic director of Italy’s Taormina Film Festival, which will have a top notch selection committee comprising British film curator and former London fest chief Sandra Hebron and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight boss Edouard Waintrop.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
By this point the spice level has gone up several notches, so O'Brien matches — then exceeds — that energy.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024
Choose a branch close to the ground, scrape some bark from the underside or cut a notch in it, and remove about 5 to 6 inches of the leaves from the spot that will be underground.
—Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2024
Their relationship got turned up several notches with the quarantines brought along by the COVID-19 pandemic.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2024
This watch is another notch in the belt of innovation for them in this department.
—Rebecca Suhrawardi, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2024
The Orange Dreamy Creamy Scooped takes the fun level up a notch; the frozen treat is soft serve made with golden Oreos and orange marshmallows.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
The brand takes creating top notch products seriously, but with a unique twist.
—Mark Anderson, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Asked if her home county could flip further, notching a win for Democrats in November, Ms. Lands’s face brightened.
—Maya King Micah Green, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
The market’s declines come after the S&P 500 notched its best first quarter since 2019.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
To put those departures in perspective: The Panthers notched a league-worst 27 sacks in 2023, and all but 2.5 of those sacks were made by players who won’t be on Carolina’s roster in 2024.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 27 Mar. 2024
Take Los Altos, California; women there notch the highest salaries of those in any city GOBankingRates analyzed: $150,000, on average.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 27 Mar. 2024
In addition to earning three Grammys and three CMA Awards, and notching five No. 1 Country Airplay hits during her career, Yearwood has long been committed to several charitable causes.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 25 Mar. 2024
Now, a decade after that initial groundbreaking tourbillon, Bulgari has done it again—notched its ninth world record in 10 years.
—Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also notched a respectable first quarter with a gain of 5.5 percent, which analysts took as a welcome sign that the current rally isn’t wholly dependent on Big Tech.
—Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'notch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Notch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/notch. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
notch
1 of 2 nounnotch
2 of 2 verb
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