At night, the faint trail of a satellite ticked through the stars.

I watched as his mind ticked through some mental checklist.

It ticked through his head like the sound of a clock.

She ticked through the points as she did a quick wash in his bathroom.

Ukiah blanched, ticking through his mind all the possible people that might have answered the door instead of him.

Then I stared at the phone, ticking through options.

Her brain was sluggish, ticking through the problem like the old gears of a grandfather's clock.

Always, the clock is ticking through the "golden hour": a 60-minute window when medical intervention can raise a victim's chances of survival.

Companies will simply "tick through" premium renewals for men at existing rates, or slightly reduced.

He seemed to be hinting at some vast plan ticking away through time that was still on course.