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definitions

tinker

[ ting-ker ]
/ ˈtɪŋ kər /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tinker ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

to mend as a tinker.
to repair in an unskillful, clumsy, or makeshift way.

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RELATED WORDS

dilettante, beginner, novice, abecedarian, loafer, pretender, tyro, trifler, nonprofessional, smatterer

Nearby words

tingly, tinhorn, tinia, tinian, tink, tinker, tinker with, tinker's cuss, tinker's dam, tinker's damn, tinker's weed

Origin of tinker

1225–75; Middle English tinkere (noun), syncopated variant of tinekere worker in tin
Related formstin·ker·er, nounun·tin·kered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tinkerer

  • The fundamental difference between the two is that Keynes is something of a tinkerer.

    War of the Economists|Michael Maiello|October 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST

  • He was a natural mechanic, a maker and tinkerer of machines; he lisped in blueprints for the blueprints came.

    Babbitt|Sinclair Lewis

  • It was standard for the tinkerer, for the would-be designer of robot bodies.

    Tangle Hold|F. L. Wallace

  • He was something of a tinkerer, and he enjoyed adapting his environment to himself.

    Beside Still Waters|Robert Sheckley

British Dictionary definitions for tinkerer

tinker

/ (ˈtɪŋkə) /

noun

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 Formstinkerer, 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

Word Origin and History for tinkerer

tinker

n.

"mender of kettles, pots, pans, etc.," mid-13c. (as a surname), of uncertain origin. Some connect the word with the sound made by light hammering on metal. The verb meaning "to keep busy in a useless way" is first found 1650s. Tinker's damn "something slight and worthless" is from 1824, probably simply preserving tinkers' reputation for free and casual use of profanity; more elaborate derivations exist, but seem to be just-so stories without evidence.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with tinkerer

tinker

In addition to the idiom beginning with tinker

  • tinker with

also see:

  • not worth a damn (tinker's damn)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.