dinky

American  

[ding-kee] / ˈdɪŋ ki /

adjective

dinkier, dinkiest

1. Informal. small, unimportant, unimpressive, or shabby.

   We stayed in a dinky old hotel.

2. British Informal. fashionable; well dressed; smart.

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noun

plural

dinkies

1. dinkey.

dinky British  

/ ˈdɪŋkɪ /

adjective

1. small and neat; dainty

2. inconsequential; insignificant

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Etymology

Origin of dinky

1780–90; compare Scots dink neatly dressed, trim (of obscure origin); sense shift perhaps: trim > dainty > small > insignificant; -y ¹

Example Sentences

But in this reversal of fortune, he is the largest opponent, taking it upon himself to defend a dinky innocent from a herd of hunters dwarfed by his size but much larger than the cricket.

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2026

However, Mazda’s Stateside marketers seem aware their biggest SUV still looks kind of dinky.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

There will be dozens of other dinky parochial interests from individual members to tend to as well, but that’s standard.

From Slate • May 17, 2025

Some people are going to want Jimmy to hurry up and become Saul Goodman and why is this dinky, blond ponytail in our way?

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2022

“It was like a secondhand tin shop, a dinky little place over there on the campus,” he recalled years later.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik