Dictionary.com

winkle

[ wing-kuhl ]
/ ˈwɪŋ kəl /
British

noun

any of various marine gastropods; periwinkle1.

verb (used with object), win·kled, win·kling.

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

QUIZZES

FOR LEXICAL ALIMENTATION, TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Nourish your vocabulary with a refresher on the words from the week of September 14–20, 2020!
Question 1 of 7
What does “blatherskite” mean?
a person given to voluble, empty talk.
an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.
a check whose amount has been raised by forgery before cashing.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of winkle

First recorded in 1575–85; short for periwinkle1

Words nearby winkle

Winiwarter-Buerger disease, wink, wink at, Winkelried, winker, winkle, winkle-pickers, wink reflex, winlestrae, winnable, winnard
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for winkle

British Dictionary definitions for winkle

winkle
/ (ˈwɪŋkəl) /

noun

See periwinkle 1

verb

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

Word Origin for winkle

C16: shortened from periwinkle 1
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