Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1900-2000
Origin: tic-tac-toe 'game played by hitting a pencil sharply against numbered squares' (1800-1900); from the sound of play

tic-tac-toe

 noun
     
tic-tac-toe , tick-tack-toe [uncountable] American English
a children's game in which two players draw X's or O's in a pattern of nine squares, trying to get three in a row [= noughts and crosses British English]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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