Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
 
Help

Clink

 - 7 dictionary results

clink

1[klingk]
–verb (used with object), verb (used 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
2. a clinking sound.
3. Metallurgy. a small crack in a steel ingot resulting from uneven expanding or contracting.
4. a pointed steel bar for breaking up road surfaces.
5. Archaic. a rhyme; jingle.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME clinken, perh. < MD clinken to sound, ring, resound

clink

2[klingk]
–noun Slang.
a prison; jail; lockup.

Origin:
1505–15; after Clink, name of prison in Southwark, London, perh. < D klink door-latch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Clink
clink 1   (klĭngk)   
intr. & tr.v.   clinked, clink·ing, clinks
To make or cause to make a light, sharp ringing sound: clinked their wineglasses together in a toast.
n.  A light, sharp ringing sound, as of glass or metal.

[Middle English clinken, probably from Middle Dutch klinken, of imitative origin.]
clink 2   (klĭngk)   
n.   Slang
A prison or a prison cell; a jail: spent the night in the clink.

[After Clink, a district of London famous for its prison.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
clink

  1. n.
    jail. : We'll throw you in the clink if you don't talk.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

clink  (v.)
c.1386, echoic.

clink  (n.)
"prison," 1770s, originally (1515) that on Clink Street in Southwark; probably influenced by clinch, clench.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Clink on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: