tick n
1. a metallic tapping sound; "he counted the ticks of the clock" [syn: ticking]
2. any of two families of small parasitic arachnids with barbed proboscis; feed on blood of warm-blooded animals
3. a mark indicating that something has been noted or completed etc.; "as he called the role he put a check mark by each student's name" [syn: check mark, check]
4. a light mattress v
5. make a clicking or ticking sound; "The clock ticked away" [syn: click]
6. make a sound like a clock or a timer; "the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight" [syn: ticktock, ticktack, beat]
7. sew; "tick a mattress" [syn: retick]
8. put a check mark on or next to; "Please check each name on the list"; "tick off the items" [syn: check, check off, mark, mark off, tick off]

Tick \Tick\, n.
1. A quick, audible beat, as of a clock.
2. Any small mark intended to direct attention to something, or to serve as a check. --Dickens.
3. (Zo["o]l.) The whinchat; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.] Death tick. (Zo["o]l.) See Deathwatch.

Tick \Tick\, v. t. To check off by means of a tick or any small mark; to score. When I had got all my responsibilities down upon my list, I compared each with the bill and ticked it off. --Dickens.

The Acarina, or Acari, are the mites and ticks. They are an order of Arachnids.

Their fossil history goes back to the Devonian era. Most acarines are tiny: less than a millimetre. It is estimated that over 50,000 species have been described, but a million or more species may be currently living. The study of mites and ticks is called acarology.

Acarines live in practically every habitat, and include aquatic (freshwater and sea water) and terrestrial species. They outnumber other arthropods in the soil and detritus. Many are parasitic, and they affect both vertebrates and invertebrates. Most parasitic forms are external parasites, while the free living forms are generally predators and may even be used to control undesirable arthropods. Others help to break down forest litter and dead organic matter such as skin cells. Others still are herbivorous and may damage crops. Damage to crops is perhaps the most costly economic effect of mites, especially by the spider mites and their relatives, earth mites, thread-footed mites and the gall and rust mites.

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