clink

1
[ klingk ]
See synonyms for clink on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object)
  1. to make or cause to make a light, sharp, ringing sound: The coins clinked together. He clinked the fork against a glass.

noun
  1. a clinking sound.

  2. Metallurgy. a small crack in a steel ingot resulting from uneven expanding or contracting.

  1. a pointed steel bar for breaking up road surfaces.

  2. Archaic. a rhyme; jingle.

Origin of clink

1
1275–1325; Middle English clinken, perhaps <Middle Dutch clinken to sound, ring, resound

Words Nearby clink

Other definitions for clink (2 of 2)

clink2
[ klingk ]

nounSlang.
  1. a prison; jail; lockup.

Origin of clink

2
1505–15; after Clink, name of prison in Southwark, London, perhaps <Dutch klink door-latch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clink in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clink (1 of 2)

clink1

/ (klɪŋk) /


verb
  1. to make or cause to make a light and sharply ringing sound

noun
  1. a light and sharply ringing sound

  2. British a pointed steel tool used for breaking up the surface of a road before it is repaired

Origin of clink

1
C14: perhaps from Middle Dutch klinken; related to Old Low German chlanch, German Klang sound

British Dictionary definitions for clink (2 of 2)

clink2

/ (klɪŋk) /


noun
  1. a slang word for prison

Origin of clink

2
C16: after Clink, name of a prison in Southwark, London

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