in the nick of time
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
At the last moment.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I managed to hammer out the brief for the marioc debate in the nick of time.
In the nick of time he saw the yellow triangular patch on the shoulder.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “in the nick of time” mean?
At the last moment.
Is “in the nick of time” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.