winkle

American  

[wing-kuhl] / ˈwɪŋ kəl /

noun

1. any of various marine gastropods; periwinkle.

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verb (used with object)

winkled, winkling

1. Informal. to pry (something) out of a place, as winkle meat is dug out of its shell with a pin (usually followed byout ).

winkle British  

/ ˈwɪŋkəl /

noun

1. See periwinkle 1

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verb

1. informal (tr; usually foll by out, out of, etc) to extract or prise out

Etymology

Origin of winkle

First recorded in 1575–85; short for periwinkle ¹

Example Sentences

England managed 3.15 degrees of spin in the first ODI but it was 3.62 here - a 15% increase - which Brook, to his credit, astutely realised was the best way to winkle wickets.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

As with Revere’s ride, it can be hard to winkle out the truth.

From Economist • Jul. 20, 2017

“So that’s the kind of thing, I think the withholding of information is pretty important and for now for you to winkle it out of us in a Q&A would really blow it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2015

Now he was using his lawyers to winkle information out of federal investigators, even as he dangled a promise of becoming a witness for the prosecutors.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2015

‘And you is going to help me do it. Us together is going to winkle out this tasteful little human bean!’ he shouted.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl