tinker Definition
tin·ker (tiŋ′kər)
noun
- a usually itinerant person who mends pots, pans, etc.
- Chiefly Irish, Chiefly Scot. Gypsy ()
- a person who can make all kinds of minor repairs; jack-of-all-trades
- a clumsy or unskillful worker; bungler
- ☆ a young mackerel
Etymology: ME tinkere < ? or akin to tinken, to make a tinkling sound
intransitive verb
- to work as a tinker
- to make clumsy or tentative attempts to mend or repair something
- to fuss or putter aimlessly or uselessly
transitive verb
to mend as a tinker; patch up
tinker Related Forms
tinker Synonyms
tinker
v.
tinker Usage Examples
Followed by a transitive particle
around: There can be little more done for car drivers except tinkering around the edges.
Converse of object
give: Look: the trout does not give a tinker 's how the fly arrives at his front door.
Preposition: at
edge: Government can indeed â should, in my opinion â tinker at the edges to fine tune some aspects of society.
Preposition: around
edge: Tinkering around the edges simply will not realize this vision.
Adjective modifier
little: Well yes, until the little tinker mistook my handbag for his litter tray, but thatâs a story for another column.
Modifying Another Word
- merely: He has merely tinkered with programs written by others.
- simply: The Green Party aims to address the root causes of these problems, rather than simply tinkering with the symptoms.
- about: That bit was about tinkering with the payment rules.
- away: Have you tinkered away for years in your garden shed creating the product which will change the world?
- just: The LRC is trying to do something quite big in the Labor Party, not just tinker.
- still: I was surprised to find people still tinkering with equipment I hadn't touched for well over a decade!
Followed by an intransitive particle
around: There are bits of him tinkering around, which could be used.
Possessives
cuss: Normally, you could not give a tinker's cuss about minority party debates.
Preposition: under
bonnet: I believe that the new capital framework must be given time to bed down before we start tinkering about under the bonnet again.
Preposition: with
- device: Or at least we will soon, and therefore it seems irrelevant whether or not it becomes illegal to tinker with devices.
- engine: Outside a group of teenagers are tinkering with a car engine.
- system: To date, however, Kim has only tinkered with the economic system.
- structure: Tinkering with a company structure is like ordering from a Chinese menu Option one is to tinker with the existing structure.
- design: I'll be back on later, hopefully with enough focus to tinker with design a little.
- car: Hire him out in return for someone who likes to mow lawns or tinker with cars.

