NOTCH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does notch mean? 

• NOTCH (noun)
  The noun NOTCH has 4 senses:

1. a V-shaped indentation

2. the location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks

3. a V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface

4. a small cut

  Familiarity information: NOTCH used as a noun is uncommon.

• NOTCH (verb)
  The verb NOTCH has 2 senses:

1. cut or make a notch into

2. notch a surface to record something

  Familiarity information: NOTCH used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NOTCH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A V-shaped indentation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Context example:

mandibular notch

Hypernyms ("notch" is a kind of...):

indentation; indenture (a concave cut into a surface or edge (as in a coastline))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "notch"):

incisura; incisure ((anatomy) a notch or small hollow)

Derivation:

notch (cut or make a notch into)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

mountain pass; notch; pass

Context example:

we got through the pass before it started to snow

Hypernyms ("notch" is a kind of...):

location (a point or extent in space)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "notch"):

col; gap (a pass between mountain peaks)

defile; gorge (a narrow pass (especially one between mountains))

saddle; saddleback (a pass or ridge that slopes gently between two peaks (is shaped like a saddle))

Instance hyponyms:

Brenner Pass (an Alpine mountain pass connecting Innsbruck in Austria with Bolzano in Italy that has long been a route for trade and for invasions)

Cumberland Gap (a pass through the Cumberland Mountains between Virginia and Kentucky that early settlers used in order to move west)

Donner Pass (a mountain pass in northeastern California near Lake Tahoe; site where in 1844 some members of an emigrant party survived by eating those who had died)

Khyber Pass (a mountain pass of great strategic and commercial value in the Hindu Kush on the border between northern Pakistan and western Afghanistan; a route by which invaders entered India)

Holonyms ("notch" is a part of...):

chain; chain of mountains; mountain chain; mountain range; range; range of mountains (a series of hills or mountains)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

there were four notches in the handle of his revolver

Hypernyms ("notch" is a kind of...):

indentation; indenture (a concave cut into a surface or edge (as in a coastline))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "notch"):

serration (a single notch in a row of notches)

thumb index (one of a series of rounded notches in the fore edge of a book to indicate sections)

undercut (a notch cut in the trunk of tree in order to determine the direction of its fall)

Derivation:

notch (notch a surface to record something)

notch (cut or make a notch into)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A small cut

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

nick; notch; snick

Hypernyms ("notch" is a kind of...):

cut; cutting (the act of penetrating or opening open with a sharp edge)

Derivation:

notch (notch a surface to record something)

notch (cut or make a notch into)

• NOTCH (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they notch    ... he / she / it notches   
Past simple: notched   
Past participle: notched   
-ing form: notching   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cut or make a notch into

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

notch the rope

Hypernyms (to "notch" is one way to...):

incise (make an incision into by carving or cutting)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "notch"):

mark; nock; score (make small marks into the surface of)

indent (notch the edge of or make jagged)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

notch (a small cut)

notch (a V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface)

notch (a V-shaped indentation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Notch a surface to record something

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "notch" is one way to...):

enter; put down; record (make a record of; set down in permanent form)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

notch (a small cut)

notch (a V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface)

 Context examples 

This allele, which encodes Delta-like protein 4, plays a role in the modulation of notch signaling and may play a role in neovascularization.

(DLL4 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

This gene is involved in the notch signal transduction pathway.

(DLL4 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

This gene is involved in notch signaling.

(DLL1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

Notch is a large cell-surface receptor that is activated by contact with membrane-bound ligands on neighboring cells.

(Notch Proteolysis and Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The free carboxy-terminal intracellular domain (ICD) of a notch family protein, which is a product of regulated intramembrane proteolysis mediated by the gamma-secretase enzyme complex.

(Notch Receptor Intracellular Domain, NCI Thesaurus)

By my ten finger-bones! it would be a strange thing if we could not notch a mark at that distance.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You may see the notch on the lower side of the frame to this day.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

This protein is involved in the initiation of notch signaling.

(Delta-Like Protein 4, NCI Thesaurus)

The portion of the stomach that lies above the cardiac notch.

(Fundus of the Stomach, NCI Thesaurus)

He notched the stick at each end and in the notches fastened strings of raw-hide.

(White Fang, by Jack London)