kink

American  

[kingk] / kɪŋk /

noun

kinks plural

1. a twist or curl, as in a thread, rope, wire, or hair, caused by its doubling or bending upon itself.

   The kink in the hose was restricting the water flow.

2. a muscular stiffness or soreness, as in the neck or back.

   The kink in my neck was making it difficult to turn my head at all.

3. a flaw or imperfection likely to hinder the successful operation of something, such as a machine or plan.

   There are still a few kinks to be worked out of the design before we start production.

4. Slang.

   1. unconventional sexual preferences or behavior collectively.

   2. a particular sexual preference or behavior that is unconventional.

   3. a person characterized by such preferences or behavior; kinkster.

5. a mental twist; notion; whim.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to form or cause to form a twist or curl, as in a rope.

   The high tensile steel wire ensures the product will not kink in the sharpest bend.

kink British  

/ kɪŋk /

noun

1. a sharp twist or bend in a wire, rope, hair, etc, esp one caused when it is pulled tight

2. a crick in the neck or similar muscular spasm

3. a flaw or minor difficulty in some undertaking or project

4. a flaw or idiosyncrasy of personality; quirk

5. informal a sexual deviation

6. a clever or unusual idea

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verb

1. to form or cause to form a kink

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unkink
  verb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• kinks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kink

First recorded in 1670–80; from Dutch: “a twist in a rope”; perhaps akin to kick ( def. )

Explanation

A kink is a bend or a twist in an otherwise straight line, like a kink in a garden hose that blocks water from flowing freely. When something kinks, it bends to form a kink or curl — if your hair kinks in the rain, it gets tightly curly. You can also have a kink in your neck, a tight muscle that cramps painfully. Yet another kind of kink is a problem, complication, or weakness in a plan: "The major kink in her plan turned out to be that no one was interested in buying hand-knitted cat sweaters."

Example Sentences

Highlights included Hot To Go, with its viral YMCA-style dance routine; and the snarky comeuppance anthem My Kink Is Karma, which Roan dedicated "to my ex who is in the crowd tonight".

From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025

Kink bands form in a crystal when an applied force causes strips of the crystal to collapse on themselves and abruptly bend.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2024

“This form of shared sacrifice is totally appropriate when you’re in a time of crisis,” said Michael Kink, the executive director of Strong Economy for All, a coalition of progressive groups and unions.

From New York Times • May 29, 2020

“There has been an explosion in wealth and income at the very top,” Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy For All Coalition, told the New York Daily News.

From Fox News • Dec. 5, 2019

Jonas Kink had a heart for money, and for that only.

From The Broom-Squire by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)

Related Words

• flaw
• hitch
• imperfection