kink
[kingk]
- a twist or curl, as in a thread, rope, wire, or hair, caused by its doubling or bending upon itself.
- a muscular stiffness or soreness, as in the neck or back.
- a flaw or imperfection likely to hinder the successful operation of something, as a machine or plan: There are still a few kinks to be worked out of the plan before we start production.
- a mental twist; notion; whim or crotchet.
- Slang.
- bizarre or unconventional sexual preferences or behavior.
- a person characterized by such preferences or behavior.
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- to form, or cause to form, a kink or kinks, as a rope.
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Origin of kink
1670–80; < Dutch: a twist in a rope
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
crimpwrinkleflawimperfectionhitchquirkcurveentanglementknotcrinklecoilcurltangleloopcorkscrewfrizzcramppainstitchpinchExamples from the Web for kink
Contemporary Examples
Indeed--she has helped educate the world on the titillating culture of kink.
In 2011, Rihanna vocalized her own taste for kink in her hit single SM.
On the one hand, she was anxious about her colleagues knowing about her kink.
Those needs varied depending on where respondents were in the kink universe.
Sometimes she sees clients who are ambivalent about their kink identities.
Historical Examples
In this way the tube will not kink or lose its shape while being wound.
Boys' Book of Model BoatsRaymond Francis Yates
She looked at Miss Avery intently, trying to understand the kink in her brain.
Howards EndE. M. Forster
There was a kink in my leader about one inch above the hook.
Tales of FishesZane Grey
Nothing but the sword of old Xiphius gladius could have made that kink!
Tales of FishesZane Grey
He kissed his fingers, and waved them in the direction of Kink's Hotel.
The Dop DoctorClotilde Inez Mary Graves
kink
- a sharp twist or bend in a wire, rope, hair, etc, esp one caused when it is pulled tight
- a crick in the neck or similar muscular spasm
- a flaw or minor difficulty in some undertaking or project
- a flaw or idiosyncrasy of personality; quirk
- British informal a sexual deviation
- US a clever or unusual idea
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- to form or cause to form a kink
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Word Origin
C17: from Dutch: a curl in a rope; compare Middle Low German kinke kink, Old Norse kinka to nod
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
Word Origin and History for kink
n.
1670s, a nautical term, from Dutch kink "twist in a rope" (also found in French and Swedish), probably related to Old Norse kikna "to bend backwards, sink at the knee" (see kick). Figurative sense of "odd notion, mental twist" first recorded in American English, 1803, in writings of Thomas Jefferson. As a verb, 1690s, from the noun.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
kink
(kĭngk)- A tight curl, twist, or bend in a length of thin material.
- A painful muscle spasm, as in the neck; a crick.
- A mental peculiarity; a quirk.
- Peculiarity or deviation in sexual behavior or taste.
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- To form or cause to form a kink or kinks.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.