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

"Billy Connolly has worked his conkers off to make it look like he's just thought something up," he says.

From BBC ● May 20, 2025

The event saw participants go head-to-head using conkers threaded on to string to try and smash their opponent's nut.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024

All participants were required to follow a stringent set of rules to ensure the event was as fair as possible, which included the conkers and laces being provided by organisers.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024

More than 2,000 conkers had been prepared prior to the event.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024

But at least the conkers was something to watch.

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