Showing results for tinker with. Search instead for finger with.

tinker with

Idioms

Try to repair, work aimlessly or unskillfully with, as in He tinkered with the engine all day but it still wouldn't start. This idiom, first recorded in 1658, alludes to working as a tinker, that is, mending metal utensils.

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:

tinker with

She also got to treat patients, including one with "fidgety legs", give out pretend prescriptions, take phone calls and tinker with various bits of medical equipment.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Facing an overmatched opponent that allowed him to freely tinker with his lineups, Mick Cronin tried plenty of mixing and matching Tuesday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025

Waiting could pay off for people who want more in their paychecks instead of big refunds — but who don’t want to tinker with their withholdings.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 19, 2025

Nobody was going to tinker with the Turbo S’s silhouette, were they?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

They constantly pick up unfamiliar things in the forest, tinker with them, and occasionally find them useful enough to bring home.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023