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ticker

/ˈtɪkər/
/ˈtɪkə/
IPA guide

Other forms: tickers

A device that transmits and displays stock prices is called a ticker. The narrow strip of paper on which this information was printed prior to the 1960s was called ticker tape.

The financial districts of cities once had masses of used ticker tape—in old movies and newsreels, you can see ticker tape being tossed from windows as confetti during parades. Today stock tickers transmit information electronically. The name ticker comes from the sound the original machines made, similar to a ticking clock (something that, along with your beating heart, can be called a ticker colloquially).

Definitions of ticker
  1. noun
    a character printer that automatically prints stock quotations on ticker tape
    synonyms: stock ticker
    see moresee less
    type of:
    character printer, character-at-a-time printer, serial printer
    a printer that prints a single character at a time
  2. noun
    a small portable timepiece
    synonyms: watch
    see moresee less
    types:
    analog watch
    a watch that represents time by the position of hands on a dial
    digital watch
    a watch with a digital display
    hunter, hunting watch
    a watch with a hinged metal lid to protect the crystal
    pendulum watch
    (18th century) a watch with a balance wheel having a fake pendulum attached to it
    pocket watch
    a watch that is carried in a small watch pocket
    stem-winder
    a watch that is wound by turning a knob at the stem
    wrist watch, wristwatch
    a watch that is worn strapped to the wrist
    type of:
    horologe, timekeeper, timepiece
    a measuring instrument or device for keeping time
  3. noun
    the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body
    synonyms: heart, pump
    see moresee less
    types:
    athlete's heart
    enlarged heart commonly found among athletes trained for endurance
    biauriculate heart
    a heart (as of mammals and birds and reptiles) having two auricles
    type of:
    internal organ, viscus
    a main organ that is situated inside the body
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘ticker'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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