tinker

English

Etymology

From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) +‎ *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪŋkə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪŋkɚ/

• (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tin‧ker
• Rhymes: -ɪŋkə(ɹ)

Noun

tinker (plural tinkers)

1. An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal.
2. (dated, chiefly British and Ireland, offensive) A member of the Irish Traveller community or of other itinerant groups. A gypsy.
3. (usually with "little") A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
4. Someone who repairs, or attempts repair, on anything mechanical, or who invents such devices; one who tinkers; a tinkerer.
5. The act of repair or invention. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
6. (military, obsolete) A hand mortar.
7. Any of various fish: chub mackerel, silverside, skate, or young mackerel about two years old.
8. A bird, the razor-billed auk.

Synonyms

• (mischievous person): rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scamp, scoundrel
• (member of the travelling community): traveller

Derived terms

• if ifs and ans were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands
• tinkerer

Translations

Verb

tinker (third-person singular simple present tinkers, present participle tinkering, simple past and past participle tinkered)

1. (intransitive) To work as a tinker.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.
   • 1894, Thomas Hardy, A Few Crusted Characters:

     the broken bureau-lock and tinkered window-pane

   • 2012 January, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 3 October 2013, page 31:

     As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.

   • 2013, Eric Goulard, Body Language Secrets Revealed:

     And because he wants to show that he is a dominant male, he tinkered the engine of his motorbike to make it even noisier.

   • 2020 May 20, “Network News: LNER seeks innovation through FutureLabs project”, in Rail, page 14:

     We're not just talking about changes that tinker around the edges - we're looking to take advantage of some of the world's latest digital and tech developments to improve our service.

Synonyms

• (attempt to fix): fudge, fiddle, hack

Translations

See also

• tinker, tailor
• tinker's damn

Further reading

• “tinker”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Kinter, reknit