This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
clinker
1[ kling-ker ]
/ ˈklɪŋ kər /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun Slang.
any mistake or error.
something that is a failure; a product of inferior quality.
a wrong note in a musical performance.
British. someone or something wonderful or exceedingly well-liked.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of clinker
1First recorded in 1830–40; special use of clinker2
Words nearby clinker
clinical trial, clinician, clinicopathologic, clinid, clink, clinker, clinker-built, clinkety-clank, clinkstone, clino-, clinograph
Other definitions for clinker (2 of 3)
Other definitions for clinker (3 of 3)
clinker3
[ kling-ker ]
/ ˈklɪŋ kər /
noun
a mass of incombustible matter fused together, as in the burning of coal.
a hard Dutch brick, used especially for paving.
a partially vitrified mass of brick.
the scale of oxide formed on iron during forging.
Geology. a mass of vitrified material ejected from a volcano.
verb (used without object)
to form clinkers in burning.
Origin of clinker
3First recorded in 1635–45; from Dutch klinker (formerly klinkaerd ) “slag”; also a kind of brick, derivative of klinken, clinken “to clink” (from the sound the material makes when struck)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use clinker in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for clinker
clinker
/ (ˈklɪŋkə) /
noun
the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
Also called: clinker brick a hard brick used as a paving stone
a partially vitrified brick or mass of brick
slang, mainly US something of poor quality, such as a film
US and Canadian slang a mistake or fault, esp a wrong note in music
verb
(intr) to form clinker during burning
Word Origin for clinker
C17: from Dutch klinker a type of brick, from obsolete klinckaerd, literally: something that clinks (referring to the sound produced when one was struck), from klinken to clink 1
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