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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
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.
There is a stringent set of rules, which include the conkers and laces used being provided by organisers.
From BBC
Some we know about, but many we don't hear from because they're smart enough to hire a publicity machine that keeps their conkers under wraps.
From Salon
As a mum, she would take her two children - Hollie and Emily - on walks in the countryside to collect acorns, conkers, pinecones and holly.
From BBC
Dr Tim Cockerill from the University of South Wales, said most remedies suggested for keeping spiders out of the house, such as putting conkers in the corner of rooms, are simply urban myths.
From BBC
The horse-chestnut – beloved by generations that played conkers as children – has been classified as vulnerable due to the spread of an invasive leaf-miner moth that damages its leaves.
From The Guardian
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.