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tinker definition

tin·ker (tiŋkər)

noun

  1. a usually itinerant person who mends pots, pans, etc.
  2. Chiefly Irish, Chiefly Scot. Gypsy ()
  3. a person who can make all kinds of minor repairs; jack-of-all-trades
  4. a clumsy or unskillful worker; bungler
  5. ☆ a young mackerel

Etymology: ME tinkere < ? or akin to tinken, to make a tinkling sound

intransitive verb

  1. to work as a tinker
  2. to make clumsy or tentative attempts to mend or repair something
  3. to fuss or putter aimlessly or uselessly

transitive verb

to mend as a tinker; patch up

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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