jinx

American  

[jingks] / dʒɪŋks /

verb (used with object)

1. to bring bad luck to; curse.

   According to tradition, wishing an actor “good luck” before a show will jinx their performance.

   That place on the corner seems jinxed—no business ever stays there for long.

2. to destroy the point of.

   His sudden laugh jinxed the host's joke.

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noun

1. a person, thing, or influence supposed to bring bad luck.

   They said I was a jinx, because every time I came to see them play, they lost.

interjection

1. (used after two people say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time).

   I’ll drive—jinx! Great minds think alike!

jinx British  

/ dʒɪŋks /

noun

1. an unlucky or malevolent force, person, or thing

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verb

1. (tr) to be or put a jinx on

Other Word Forms

• outjinx verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of jinx

An Americanism first recorded in 1910–15; perhaps from Latin jynx “wryneck” (bird used in divination and magic), from Greek íynx, perhaps from or akin to iýzein “to shout, yell”

Example Sentences

"I don't want to jinx it, but I feel like it's gone very, very well," says Ricky.

From BBC

“I don’t want to jinx it,” said Seckeita Lewis, who was flying Friday from San Francisco to Dallas on American Airlines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Because of that, I don't want to jinx the Black Cats by saying they will win... but it is also hard to make a case for Everton getting anything.

From BBC

Thompson has plans to produce something for DaCosta, a TV adaptation of a book, but is still in the process of finalizing the rights and is reluctant to jinx it by saying the title.

From Los Angeles Times

With Frankenstein, he worries he’ll jinx the monster by talking too much about him, snuffing out the ineffable thing that he says fueled his performance.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• hex