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definitions

sinker

[sing-ker]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sinker ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that sinks.
a person employed in sinking, as one who sinks shafts.
a weight, as of lead, for sinking a fishing line or net below the surface of the water.
Slang. a doughnut or, sometimes, a biscuit or muffin.
Also called sinkerball. Baseball. a pitched ball that curves downward sharply as it reaches the plate.

Origin of sinker

1520–30; 1920–25 for def 4; 1925–30 for def 5; sink + -er1
Related formssink·er·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sinker

pressure, bun, pastry, counterpoise, stone, plumb, mass, counterbalance, rock, bob, anchor, ballast, sandbag, sinker, pendulum, poundage, counterweight, Danish, cruller, dunker

Examples from the Web for sinker

Contemporary Examples of sinker

Historical Examples of sinker

  • A pressure-gauge to register the depth of the sinker has been added by Sir William.

  • Even I swallered that Development Company, hook, line, and sinker.

    The Rise of Roscoe Paine

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • I have arranged this sinker, which has a hole through it, so that the line will run freely.

  • An' I'll bet a sinker it'll beat that Bally Klavvy bizness if we do it well.

  • No sinker or float is required, as the bait must be kept near the surface.

    Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others

    James Alexander Henshall

British Dictionary definitions for sinker

sinker

noun

a weight attached to a fishing line, net, etc, to cause it to sink in water
a person who sinks shafts, etc
US an informal word for doughnut
hook, line, and sinker See hook (def. 18)
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 sinker
n.

1838 in the fishing-line sense, agent noun from sink (v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with sinker

sinker

see hook, line, and sinker.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.