The difference between Nick and Theft
When used as nouns, nick means a particular place or point considered as marked by a nick, whereas theft means the act of stealing property.
Nick is also verb with the meaning: to make a nick or notch in.
check bellow for the other definitions of Nick and Theft
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Nick as a noun (now, rare):
A small cut in a surface. A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment. A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.
Examples:
"[[in the nick of time in the nick of time]]"
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Nick as a noun (cricket):
A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch. One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation. The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.
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Nick as a noun (Britain, slang):
In the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.
Examples:
"The car I bought was cheap and in good nick."
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Nick as a noun (Britain, law enforcement, slang):
A police station or prison.
Examples:
"He was arrested and taken down to Sun Hill nick [police station] to be charged."
"He’s just been released from Shadwell nick [prison] after doing ten years for attempted murder."
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Nick as a verb (transitive):
To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way. To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar. To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
Examples:
"I nicked myself while I was shaving."
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Nick as a verb (transitive, obsolete):
To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with. To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time. To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection. To throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.
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Nick as a verb (transitive, Australia, Britain, slang):
To steal.
Examples:
"Someone’s nicked my bike!"
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Nick as a verb (transitive, Britain, law enforcement, _, slang):
To arrest.
Examples:
"The police nicked him climbing over the fence of the house he’d broken into."
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Nick as a noun (Internet):
Examples:
"a user’s reserved nick on an IRC network"
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Nick as a verb (transitive, obsolete):
To give or call (someone) by a nickname; to style.
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Nick as a noun (archaic):
A nix or .
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Theft as a noun:
The act of stealing property.