tinker

[ting-ker]

noun

1. a mender of pots, kettles, pans, etc., usually an itinerant.

2. an unskillful or clumsy worker; bungler.

3. a person skilled in various minor kinds of mechanical work; jack-of-all-trades.

4. an act or instance of tinkering.

   Let me have a tinker at that motor.

5. Scot., Irish English.

   1. a Romani living in the British Isles; a Traveler.

   2. any itinerant worker.

   3. a wanderer.

   4. a beggar.

6. chub mackerel.

verb (used without object)

1. to busy oneself with a thing without useful results.

   Stop tinkering with that clock and take it to the repair shop.

2. to work unskillfully or clumsily at anything.

3. to do the work of a tinker.

verb (used with object)

1. to mend as a tinker.

2. to repair in an unskillful, clumsy, or makeshift way.

tinker

/ ˈtɪŋkə /

noun

1. (esp formerly) a travelling mender of pots and pans

2. a clumsy worker

3. the act of tinkering

4. another name for Gypsy

5. informal,  a mischievous child

6. any of several small mackerels that occur off the North American coast of the Atlantic

verb

1. to play, fiddle, or meddle (with machinery, etc), esp while undertaking repairs

2. to mend (pots and pans) as a tinker

Other Word Forms

• tinkerer noun
• untinkered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tinker¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English tinkere (noun), syncopated variant of tinekere “worker in tin”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tinker¹

C13 tinkere, perhaps from tink tinkle, of imitative origin

Idioms and Phrases

• not worth a damn (tinker's damn)

Example Sentences

An economic renaissance requires a more profound attitude shift than the tinkering around the edges on display this month.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He tinkered around with the idea and developed a flash-frozen burrito filled with beef, beans and red chili powder.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Olivia Watts said she was "in tears" as she watched her grandparents Ron and Marilyn Hill take each other for a spin on Tuesday - before Ron tinkered on the famous Wurlitzer organ.

Read more on BBC

But the government kept tinkering with the design to meet ever-changing specifications, which set back the construction schedule and added costs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The second half was back to tinkering on the sink.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dabble 
• mess