tin-pot

or tin·pot

[ tin-pot ]

/ ˈtɪnˈpɒt /

Save This Word!

adjective

inferior; paltry; shoddy: The tin-pot farce lasted only three performances before closing.

of minor importance or significance: a tin-pot dictator, trying to look like a statesman.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of tin-pot

First recorded in 1835–45; tin (from the believed inferior quality of a tin pot) + pot¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tin-pot in a sentence

Nayland is a stuffed shirt of the first stuffing, and a tinpot Hitler to boot, but he is fanatically and incorruptibly patriotic.
The Mercenaries|Henry Beam Piper
You tell that grey-bearded old devil that we know nothing about his cursed tinpot religion.
A Desert Drama|A. Conan Doyle
Didn't I draw that little tinpot's fire, and give you a chance to butt in?
A Lively Bit of the Front|Percy F. Westerman
England will blow your trumpery little fleet out of the water and sweep your tinpot army into Siberia for this.
Great Catherine|George Bernard Shaw

"The tinpot style," said Mr. Britling at last in a voice of extreme bitterness.
Mr. Britling Sees It Through|H. G. Wells

British Dictionary definitions for tin-pot

tinpot

/ (ˈtɪnˌpɒt) /

adjective (prenominal) British informal

inferior, cheap, or worthless

paltry; unimportant

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