clinker
1 Americannoun
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any mistake or error.
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something that is a failure; a product of inferior quality.
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a wrong note in a musical performance.
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British. someone or something wonderful or exceedingly well-liked.
noun
noun
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a mass of incombustible matter fused together, as in the burning of coal.
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a hard Dutch brick, used especially for paving.
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a partially vitrified mass of brick.
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the scale of oxide formed on iron during forging.
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Geology. a mass of vitrified material ejected from a volcano.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
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Also called: clinker brick. a hard brick used as a paving stone
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a partially vitrified brick or mass of brick
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slang something of poor quality, such as a film
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slang a mistake or fault, esp a wrong note in music
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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clinkersimple
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clinkerssimple
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have clinkeredperfect
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has clinkeredperfect
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am clinkeringprogressive
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are clinkeringprogressive
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is clinkeringprogressive
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have been clinkeringperfect progressive
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has been clinkeringperfect progressive
Past
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clinkeredsimple
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had clinkeredperfect
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was clinkeringprogressive
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were clinkeringprogressive
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had been clinkeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clinker1
First recorded in 1830–40; special use of clinker 2
Origin of clinker2
First recorded in 1680–90; clink 1 + -er 1
Origin of clinker3
First 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)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Conch and Huawei have developed AI tools for more precisely predicting clinker strength, as well as for controlling energy use at the kiln where it is made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
In the architectural age of minimalism and millennial gray, a wild and whimsical antidote made of old clinker bricks and jumbled shingles sits on a quiet street at the edge of L.A. and Culver City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
"She has made enough ridiculous rulings in this case that nobody should be surprised if she makes another clinker," he told Salon.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2024
"We found the combination of cement clinker and iron oxide is an excellent steelmaking slag because it foams and it flows well," said Dunant.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024
By April the berries were in and a post-and- beam shed-barn, and by summer Carl could be seen framing up walls and mortaring clinker brick.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
If chunks of ash — known as clinkers — stick on the bottom, they may need some muscle.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2018
A few clinkers aside, most of the performances were more than competent, if somewhat studied.
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2016
The decade also had a few Christmas clinkers, and one is writer-director George Seaton’s shrilly sentimental fable.
From Time ● Dec. 20, 2011
Despite the refinement and élan in his playing, his recording of Chopin’s 24 études from the early 1930s is, by today’s standards, littered with clinkers.
From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2011
“No, nothing's ever lost. We have ways to shake down your clinkers for you.”
From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
The clinkered hills, quivering in the west, sank gradually into the heated blur above the plains.
From Dragon's blood by Rideout, Henry Milner
Stars, forsooth!—and, pray, what paltry sun, what irresponsible comet, what pallid, clinkered satellite, might boast a purple splendor such as this?
From The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck A Comedy of Limitations by Cabell, James Branch
The material is then in a partially burnt and slightly sintered state, but it is not fully clinkered and would not make Portland cement.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
They express themselves in the form of clinkered holes, excessive smoke, and irregularly fired or sulphured ware.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.
It is self-evident that an ideal kiln would be one that produced the maximum quantity of thoroughly clinkered material with a minimum amount of fuel, labor, and investment.
From Edison, His Life and Inventions by Dyer, Frank Lewis
The clinkering process requires heat and the right combination of oxides, all of which are in used cement, but need to be reactivated.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024
Cement is made through a process called clinkering, where limestone and other raw materials are crushed and heated to about 1,450°C in large kilns.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024
The flues of each furnace are provided with dampers, which are closed during the process of clinkering in order to keep up the heat.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various
I should cut a fine figure, metaphorically, if not arithmetically speaking; whereas my farthing rush-light is now sputtering, clinkering, and guttering to waste, and all because I have not a pair of silver snuffers.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 15, January, 1859 by Various
The wide clinkering doors are suspended by counterbalance weights and open vertically.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
