kink

[kingk]
noun
1.
a twist or curl, as in a thread, rope, wire, or hair, caused by its doubling or bending upon itself.
2.
a muscular stiffness or soreness, as in the neck or back.
3.
a flaw or imperfection likely to hinder the successful operation of something, as a machine or plan: There are still a few kinks to be worked out of the plan before we start production.
4.
a mental twist; notion; whim or crotchet.
5.
Slang.
a.
bizarre or unconventional sexual preferences or behavior.
b.
a person characterized by such preferences or behavior.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
6.
to form, or cause to form, a kink or kinks, as a rope.
00:10
Kink is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

Origin:
1670–80; < Dutch: a twist in a rope

un·kink, verb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
kink (kɪŋk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a sharp twist or bend in a wire, rope, hair, etc, esp one caused when it is pulled tight
2.  a crick in the neck or similar muscular spasm
3.  a flaw or minor difficulty in some undertaking or project
4.  a flaw or idiosyncrasy of personality; quirk
5.  informal (Brit) a sexual deviation
6.  (US) a clever or unusual idea
 
vb
7.  to form or cause to form a kink
 
[C17: from Dutch: a curl in a rope; compare Middle Low German kinke kink, Old Norse kinka to nod]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

kink
1670s, a nautical term, from Du. kink "twist in a rope" (also found in French and Swedish), probably related to O.N. kika "to bend at the knee" (see kick). Figurative sense of "odd notion, mental twist" first recorded in Amer.Eng., 1803, in writings of Thomas Jefferson.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

kink (kĭngk)
n.

  1. A tight curl, twist, or bend in a length of thin material.

  2. A painful muscle spasm, as in the neck; a crick.

  3. A mental peculiarity; a quirk.

  4. Peculiarity or deviation in sexual behavior or taste.

v. kinked, kink·ing, kinks
To form or cause to form a kink or kinks.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

kink definition


  1. n.
    a strange person; a kinkyperson. : The guy's a kink. Watch out for him.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
He had wrapped both hands around his lower back and kept straightening up, as
  if to work out a kink.
Our city's zoning ordinances plus the kink in our chimney that made it
  impossible to install a liner made the choice for us.
She straightens a kink in the filament and blows on the butterfly gently a few
  times to dry the cement.
Imagine two cars starting at the same spot and accelerating away from each
  other, but lets add a kink.
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