conker
Americannoun
-
a horse chestnut.
-
the hollowed-out shell of a horse chestnut.
-
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.
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
Mr Jakins, a conker competitor since 1977, denied using a steel horse chestnut at any point in the tournament, and said he kept a steel conker on him for "humour value".
From BBC • Oct. 21, 2024
Her voice, I noticed, had that same hard metallic quality as the voice of the witch I had met under the conker tree, only it was far louder and much much harsher.
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
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.
