jinx
Americanverb (used with object)
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jinxes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jinxed,
past participle, past
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jinxing
present participle
-
to bring bad luck to; curse.
According to tradition, wishing an actor “good luck” before a show will jinx their performance.
That place on the corner seems jinxed—no business ever stays there for long.
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to destroy the point of.
His sudden laugh jinxed the host's joke.
noun
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jinxes
plural
interjection
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jinxsimple
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jinxessimple
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have jinxedperfect
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has jinxedperfect
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am jinxingprogressive
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are jinxingprogressive
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is jinxingprogressive
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have been jinxingperfect progressive
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has been jinxingperfect progressive
Past
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jinxedsimple
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had jinxedperfect
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was jinxingprogressive
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were jinxingprogressive
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had been jinxingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jinx
An Americanism first recorded in 1910–15; perhaps from Latin jynx “wryneck” (bird used in divination and magic), from Greek íynx, perhaps from or akin to iýzein “to shout, yell”
Explanation
If your sister gets a flat tire every single time you ride in her car, she may have good reason to accuse you of being a jinx, or a bringer of bad luck. When your bad luck makes you think there's a jinx on you, you believe that you're cursed. A bad omen — like a black cat — can be called a jinx, or the resulting bad fortune itself might be referred to that way. Jinx is also a verb, meaning "to subject to bad luck." In the 17th century the word was jyng, which also meant a bird called a "wryneck," used in witchcraft.
Vocabulary lists containing jinx
Friday the 13th
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 8–October 14, 2022
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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:
There is no longer a weekly cover of Sports Illustrated magazine to jinx athletes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Alexander Zverev ploughed into the Australian Open last eight on Sunday but said he "did not want to jinx it" as he bids to make the final for a second year in a row.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
"I don't want to jinx it, but I feel like it's gone very, very well," says Ricky.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
Thompson has plans to produce something for DaCosta, a TV adaptation of a book, but is still in the process of finalizing the rights and is reluctant to jinx it by saying the title.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Hagrid shook his head; his expression was disbelieving but sympathetic, and Harry knew that Hagrid thought he had sustained a blow to the head, that he was confused, perhaps by the aftereffects of a jinx....
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
“Certainly it had nothing to do with the market selloff — it was just kind of one of those jinxes, if you want to call it that,” Saluzzi said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
We still need people in this world that believe in jinxes, bad luck superstition, the non-existence of dinosaurs and a flat earth.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2019
As I read back through this live diary, it's truly incredible how many jinxes I've inadvertently put on Koepka.
From Golf Digest ● May 19, 2019
“That’s the look he gives the rookie when the rookie jinxes the shift and says, ‘Boy, it sure is quiet tonight.’”
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2018
He saw the brother and sister running down the marble staircase ahead and aimed jinxes at them, but merely hit several bewigged witches in a portrait on the landing, who ran screeching into neighboring paintings.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Aaron Hickey is an excellent player, but he's jinxed by injury.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
There’s even some blame for New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a Mets fan who apparently jinxed the team early April when he posed for a photo-op with unsettling team mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
If it tanks, I’ll have jinxed it on behalf of all those EpiPen overpayers from the mid-2010s.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
He not only jinxed them once but twice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2026
It was like his very words had jinxed us, because at that exact moment there was a loud bang on the entrance to the Glitch room.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
To avoid jinxing it, Kohs and Krieg never even uttered the word Nobel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026
And perhaps to avoid jinxing things, she has revealed this year what is on her phone's lock screen to motivate her this time round, telling reporters: "You're going to know after the final."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2023
“I’m just so Catholic and freaked out about jinxing anything,” says Savage.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
The immensely likable first baseman blamed me for jinxing them in 2016 when I congratulated him at the All-Star game for the division title that they appeared bound to win.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2021
Marcela was so worried about jinxing the horses that she hadn’t come to the track.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
