jinx

[ jingks ]

/ dʒɪŋks /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jinx ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person, thing, or influence supposed to bring bad luck.

verb (used with object)

to bring bad luck to; place a jinx on: The strike has jinxed my plans to go to Milwaukee for the weekend.

to destroy the point of: His sudden laugh jinxed the host's joke.

Nearby words

jinn, jinnah, jinne, jinni, jinrikisha, jinx, jinzhou, jipijapa, jird, jism, jit

Origin of jinx

1910–15, Americanism; perhaps < Latin jynx wryneck (bird used in divination and magic) < Greek íynx

Related forms

out·jinx, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jinx

Is it a jinx, like being put on the cover of Sports Illustrated?
The Second Life of San Miguel de Allende|Michele Willens|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Stolen By Jinx Jamison and Minx Malone The Madame X School of Sex series of short ebooks are steamy cheap buys.
Sexier Than ‘50 Shades of Grey’: Naughtiest Bits From 12 Other Erotica Bestsellers||July 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“Spit in your hat quick and kill that jinx,” I answered, not thinking for the minute, and he followed my example.
Pitching in a Pinch|Christy Mathewson
But the “jinx” had not yet deserted him, as he was soon to discover.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer|J. W. Duffield

He had seen Big League teams do the same thing in an effort to drive away the jinx and break a streak of bad luck.
Lefty Locke Pitcher-Manager|Burt L. Standish
That's why you get it cheap—if you'll take it and chase out the jinx that's been wished on me.
Athalie|Robert W. Chambers
Guess there is a jinx after this team all right, he growled.
Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team|Lester Chadwick

British Dictionary definitions for jinx

jinx

/ (dʒɪŋks) /

noun

an unlucky or malevolent force, person, or thing

verb

(tr) to be or put a jinx on

Word Origin for jinx

C20: perhaps from New Latin Jynx genus name of the wryneck, from Greek iunx wryneck, the name of a bird used in magic

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