tinker

American  

[ting-ker] / ˈtɪŋ kər /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

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

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

tinker Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tinker

• not worth a damn (tinker's damn)

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Other Word Forms

• tinkerer noun
• untinkered adjective

Etymology

Origin of tinker

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

Example Sentences

“I’m able to just go out and play baseball as opposed to trying to tinker and fix certain stuff.”

From Los Angeles Times

Athwal said the system was "in urgent need of reform" and "tinkering around the edges is not going to cut it".

From BBC

The subject of constant tinkering, another reimagining is on the horizon.

From Los Angeles Times

A bit of tinkering – stripping the original’s heavy bassline, tossing in his lithe falsetto and a playful guitar to hold everything aloft – made the one-time throwaway into something immortal.

From Salon

The company plans to roll out more of those features this year but is still tinkering with the service to align those offerings with travelers’ interests.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• dabble
• mess