chink

[ chingk ]

See synonyms for chink on Thesaurus.com

noun

a crack, cleft, or fissure: a chink in a wall.
a narrow opening: a chink between two buildings.

verb (used with object)

to fill up chinks in.

Origin of chink

1350–1400; Middle English; perhaps chine¹ + -k suffix (see -ock)

Other words for chink

1	breach, rent, cut

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Words Nearby chink

Other definitions for chink (2 of 3)

chink²

[ chingk ]

verb (used with or without object)

to make, or cause to make, a short, sharp, ringing sound, as of coins or glasses striking together.

noun

a chinking sound: the chink of ice in a glass.
Slang. coin or ready cash.

Origin of chink

First recorded in 1565–75; imitative

Other definitions for Chink (3 of 3)

Chink

[ chingk ]

noun(sometimes lowercase)Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.

a contemptuous term used to refer to a Chinese person.

Origin of Chink

1900–05; earlier Chinkie apparently alteration of China, Chinese by association with chink¹ (from the stereotypical Western image of Chinese as narrow-eyed); see -ie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use chink in a sentence

“We were raised with this mystique about the accident being the chink in this important legacy,” she says.
The Price of Being a Patton: Wrestling With the Legacy of America’s Most Famous General | Tim Teeman | May 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In letting one of the company out she incautiously stood looking through the open chink into the dark passage.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. Ballantyne
I found a chink in the wall and beheld the face of the Englishman peering from the small end window.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
Mysie dashed the warm tears from her eyes, and looked again through the chink in the shutter.
The Underworld | James C. Welsh
And whenever at work he happened to spy At chink or crevice a blinking eye, He let the dipper of water fly.
The Book of Humorous Verse | Various

According to Skeat jingle, “a frequentative verb from the base jink,” is allied to chink, and chink is “an imitative word”.
Archaic England | Harold Bayley

British Dictionary definitions for chink (1 of 3)

chink¹

/ (tʃɪŋk) /

noun

a small narrow opening, such as a fissure or crack
chink in one's armour a small but fatal weakness

verb

(tr) mainly US and Canadian to fill up or make cracks in

Origin of chink

C16: perhaps variant of earlier chine, from Old English cine crack; related to Middle Dutch kene, Danish kin

Derived forms of chink

chinky, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for chink (2 of 3)

chink²

/ (tʃɪŋk) /

verb

to make or cause to make a light ringing sound, as by the striking of glasses or coins

noun

such a sound

Origin of chink

C16: of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for Chink (3 of 3)

Chink

taboo Chinky (ˈtʃɪŋkɪ)

/ (tʃɪŋk) /

noun, adjectiveplural Chinks or Chinkies

an old-fashioned and highly derogatory term for Chinese

Origin of Chink

C20: probably from Chinese, influenced by chink 1 (referring to the characteristic shape of the Chinese eye)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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