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tinhorn

American

[tin-hawrn] / ˈtɪnˌhɔrn /

noun

someone, especially a gambler, who pretends to be important but actually has little money, influence, or skill.

adjective

cheap and insignificant; small-time.

a tinhorn racket.

tinhorn British

/ ˈtɪnˌhɔːn /

noun

a cheap pretentious person, esp a gambler with extravagant claims

"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

adjective

cheap and showy

"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

Etymology

Origin of tinhorn

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; tin + horn

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.

See Examples For:

tinhorn

Seen from sophisticated aeries such as New York or London, their politics have often seemed clownish and tinhorn.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 26, 2017

This self-destructive mechanism for members’ sovereignty enabled tinhorn bureaucrats to run roughshod over good governance.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 22, 2016

It may not be our job to topple every tinhorn dictator who plans his flag on a plot of land.

From US News ● Apr. 18, 2016

It seems, instead, a tinhorn bleat for customers.

From Time Magazine Archive

If ever I seen tinhorn sports them two is such.

From Gunsight Pass How Oil Came to the Cattle Country and Brought a New West by Raine, William MacLeod

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023