tinker

[ ting-ker ]

/ ˈtɪŋ kər /

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See synonyms for: tinker / tinkered / tinkering / tinkerer on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

an unskillful or clumsy worker; bungler.

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

an act or instance of tinkering: Let me have a tinker at that motor.

Scot., Irish English.

a Romani living in the British Isles; a Traveler.
any itinerant worker.
a wanderer.
a beggar.

chub mackerel.

verb (used without object)

to busy oneself with a thing without useful results: Stop tinkering with that clock and take it to the repair shop.

to work unskillfully or clumsily at anything.

to do the work of a tinker.

verb (used with object)

to mend as a tinker.

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

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Origin of tinker

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tinker

tin·ker·er, nounun·tin·kered, adjective

Words nearby tinker

tin god, tin hat, tinhorn, Tinia, Tinian, tinker, tinkerman, tinker's cuss, tinker's dam, tinker's damn, Tinkertoy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use tinker in a sentence

You could tinker with them so they would boil but then the cops could take it away for being an ‘altered item’.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison|Daniel Genis|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He could spell the names of all his classmates, and he loved building with Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys.
The Crossword Puzzle Turns 100: The ‘King of Crossword’ on Its Strange History|Kevin Fallon|December 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
[Laughs] KROLL: The “Tinker Stinker” I like, in that it felt like a true labeling of something that happens.
‘The League’ Roundtable: The Cast Dishes on the Funniest Show You’re Not Watching|Marlow Stern|November 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
More like used tinker toys in a world of killer apps and drones.
Obama’s 2012 Campaign Prepped for Disaster. Obamacare Didn’t.|Lloyd Green|October 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Oh, sure, if it would attract a few token Republican votes, they were willing to tinker with the price tag.
How Could the GOP Have Improved Obamacare?|Megan McArdle|May 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For that matter, he said, he didn't care a tinker's dam if we were; he had grub and bedding and we were welcome to both.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Mr. Giles directed an appealing glance at the tinker, but he had suddenly fallen asleep.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
Tinker received a scimitar from the hands of Mr. Figgins, and flourished it gaily round his head.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng
Tinker hopped round him as nimbly as a tomtit or a jackdaw, and presently gave him another little taste of his steel.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng
But Tinker and his man were not at all put out by these strange demonstrations upon the part of the ladies.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng

British Dictionary definitions for tinker

tinker

/ (ˈtɪŋkə) /

noun

(esp formerly) a travelling mender of pots and pans

a clumsy worker

the act of tinkering

Scot and Irish another name for Gypsy

British informal a mischievous child

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

verb

(intr foll by with) to play, fiddle, or meddle (with machinery, etc), esp while undertaking repairs

to mend (pots and pans) as a tinker

Derived forms of tinker

tinkerer, noun

Word Origin for tinker

C13 tinkere, perhaps from tink tinkle, of imitative origin

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tinker

tinker

In addition to the idiom beginning with tinker

tinker with

also see:

not worth a damn (tinker's damn)

tinker

Origin of tinker

OTHER WORDS FROM tinker

Words nearby tinker

Words related to tinker

How to use tinker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tinker

Derived forms of tinker

Word Origin for tinker

Other Idioms and Phrases with tinker