kintsugi
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of kintsugi
First recorded in 2005–10; from Japanese: literally “gold repair, gold joinery”
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.
Ms. Kondo illustrates mottainai through art forms that evolved from the spirit of preservation—including kintsugi, or the painstaking process of repairing broken pottery with a combination of lacquer and gold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Lin filled the crack with silver leaf, playing on the traditional Japanese art of kintsugi, which repairs broken pottery with seams of silver, gold or platinum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2024
“I started to repair things,” she said — along the lines of the Japanese concept of kintsugi, in which repair creates new life.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
If that sounds hard to believe, look up the Japanese word kintsugi.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2021
The 15th century Japanese technique of kintsugi — which means “to join with gold” — uses lacquer mixed with powdered gold to repair shattered pieces of pottery.
From Washington Post
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.
