Meaning & use
nick of time
The last possible moment before it would be too late; almost always used in the phrase 'in the nick of time.'
See it in a sentence
The firefighters arrived in the nick of time to pull the family from the burning house.
She caught the falling vase in the nick of time, just before it hit the floor.
A note on using this word
This phrase almost always appears with 'in,' as 'in the nick of time,' rather than standing alone.
Words with a similar meaning
at the last moment
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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