Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

tinker

 - 4 dictionary results
Dirty Girls in your Area
Single Girls looking for Cute Guys. Come check out their profiles.
www.Mate1.com

tin⋅ker

  [ting-ker]
Use tinker in a Sentence
–noun
1. a mender of pots, kettles, pans, etc., usually an itinerant.
2. an unskillful or clumsy worker; bungler.
3. a person skilled in various minor kinds of mechanical work; jack-of-all-trades.
4. an act or instance of tinkering: Let me have a tinker at that motor.
5. Scot., Irish English.
a. a gypsy.
b. any itinerant worker.
c. a wanderer.
d. a beggar.
6. chub mackerel.
–verb (used without object)
7. to busy oneself with a thing without useful results: Stop tinkering with that clock and take it to the repair shop.
8. to work unskillfully or clumsily at anything.
9. to do the work of a tinker.
–verb (used with object)
10. to mend as a tinker.
11. to repair in an unskillful, clumsy, or makeshift way.
Origin:
1225–75; ME tinkere (n.), syncopated var. of tinekere worker in tin

Related forms:
tin⋅ker⋅er, noun
Dirty Girls in your Area
Single Girls looking for Cute Guys. Come check out their profiles.
www.Mate1.com

chub mackerel

 
–noun
a small mackerel, Scomber japonicus, of Atlantic and Pacific seas and parts of the Indian Ocean.
Also called tinker.

Origin:
1805–15, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tinker
tin·ker   (tĭng'kər)   
n.  

  1. A traveling mender of metal household utensils.

  2. Chiefly British A member of any of various traditionally itinerant groups of people living especially in Scotland and Ireland; a traveler.

  3. One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts.

  4. A clumsy repairer or worker; a meddler.

v.   tin·kered, tin·ker·ing, tin·kers

v.   intr.

  1. To work as a tinker.

  2. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repair; fiddle: tinkered with the engine, hoping to discover the trouble; tinkering with the economy by trying various fiscal policies.

v.   tr.

  1. To mend as a tinker.

  2. To manipulate unskillfully or experimentally.


[Middle English tinkere.]
tin'ker·er n.
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
Idioms & Phrases

tinker

In addition to the idiom beginning with tinker, also see not worth a damn (tinker's damn).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see tinker on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way