Meaning
At the very last possible moment, just before it would be too late.
It’s used for close calls that work out — arriving, finishing, or being rescued at the last conceivable instant, with a sense of relief or drama attached.
Origin
Before the 16th century, English speakers expressed the same idea with “pudding time,” since pudding was traditionally served as the first course of a medieval meal, so arriving “at pudding time” meant arriving just as the meal was starting. As pudding shifted to become a dessert served at the end of meals, this phrase stopped making logical sense, and the Tudors replaced it with the more precise “nick of time,” where “nick” referred to a small notch or cut, of the kind carved into wooden tally sticks to keep exact count or measurement, or marked on instruments and clocks to indicate an exact setting. Arthur Golding’s 1565 translation of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” is credited with an early use of “nick” in this precise-timing sense, and Arthur Day’s 1615 “Festivals” contains what is considered the first clear example of the full modern phrase: “Even in this nicke of time, this very, very instant.”
Examples
We caught the train in the nick of time.
The doctor arrived in the nick of time.
She finished the report in the nick of time before the deadline.
A: “Did you make it to the gate?” B: “Yes, in the nick of time.”
Frequently asked questions
What does 'In the nick of time' mean?
At the very last possible moment, just before it would be too late.
It’s used for close calls that work out — arriving, finishing, or being rescued at the last conceivable instant, with a sense of relief or drama attached.