conker
Americannoun
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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.
And they were needed, with one man disqualified for trying to smuggle a non-conforming conker in.
From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025
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
His victory was plunged into controversy and he was surprised to find himself at the centre of national headlines when the Telegraph reported claims he cheated by swapping his real conker for a metal one.
From BBC • Oct. 21, 2024
He added: "Yes, he had a steel conker with him, which we're aware of... it's very obvious it's not a real one."
From BBC • Oct. 15, 2024
A conker tree’d erupted out of the earth and'd flexed out millions of strong arms and strong legs.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
