conkers

British

/ ˈkɒŋkəz /

noun

(functioning as singular) a game in which a player swings a horse chestnut (conker), threaded onto a string, against that of another player to try to break it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of conkers

C19: from dialect conker snail shell, originally used in the game

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:

conkers

There had been fears the event would be cancelled for only the third time in its history due to the hot, dry summer, which caused conkers to fall from trees early.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025

"Hopefully then, there will be conkers left to pick in a week or two's time."

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025

Northamptonshire has been going bonkers for conkers since 1965, when the county hosted the championships for the first time.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024

She now helps out by picking good nuts and threading about 2,000 conkers for battle.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024

First years were playing conkers in the queue for the Black Swan Green bus.

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