conker
Americannoun
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conkers
plural
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a horse chestnut.
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the hollowed-out shell of a horse chestnut.
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conkers, a game in which a child swings a horse chestnut on a string in an attempt to break that of another player.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of conker
1840–50; probably originally conquer; compare conquering a game played with snail shells (the name of the game presumably later transferred to the playing pieces)
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:
The single combat involves swinging a conker -- a hardened horse chestnut -- on a string at your opponent's nut with murderous venom, until one is smashed to pieces.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
And they were needed, with one man disqualified for trying to smuggle a non-conforming conker in.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
A man accused of using a conker made of steel to win a competition "achieved his title fairly", an investigation concluded.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2024
The championship, which raises money for charities, culminates with the crowning of winners dubbed the conker king and queen.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2023
Round the other side of the conker tree, I looked at what lay up the bridle path.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Organisers of next month's World Conker Championships hope to have avoided cancelling it altogether following an appeal for help, after the hot, dry summer caused conkers to drop from their trees early.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025
There were fears before the event that there could be a shortage of conkers due to high winds blowing horse chestnut seeds from trees earlier in the autumn.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
A mature horse chestnut, it is festooned with glorious blooms every spring, and after a few weeks sheds hundreds of partially grown, supernumerary conkers, encased in spiky green coverings.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
All conkers are selected and supplied by the organisers of the World Championships, held at Southwick, near Oundle since 1965.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2023
At Miss Throckmorton's I was skill at conkers.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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