plink
Americanverb (used without object)
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to shoot, as with a rifle, at targets selected at whim.
to plink at coins tossed in the air.
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to make a series of short, light, ringing sounds.
verb (used with object)
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to shoot at for practice or amusement, as with a rifle.
to plink bottles set along a fence railing.
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to cause to make a series of short, light, ringing sounds.
noun
noun
verb
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(intr) to make such a noise
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to hit (a target, such as a tin can) by shooting or to shoot at such a target
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of plink
First recorded in 1965–70; imitative
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.
Here’s a kalimba, an African thumb piano with metal tines that plink like a music box.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2021
And so just on the day I said, “This is kind of weird, maybe plink the piano.”
From The Verge ● Dec. 4, 2019
He employed an orchestra, climbed inside a piano to plink its strings with a bobby pin, and incorporated everyday sounds like keys jangling or dogs barking into the songs.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2015
John Tiffany’s direction demands that all the actors play instruments, and Steven Hoggett’s choreography has them up and dancing while they plink and pluck and strum.
From New York Times ● Dec. 25, 2014
The pianos plink along softly; it sounds as if a dozen are playing all ar once, as if the sound comes from every point of the compass.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
