- periwinkle
- any of various gastropod mollusks that are very destructive to oysters and clams
winkle
win·kletransitive verb
-·kled, -·klingInformal to pry or rout from cover, secrecy, etc.: with out, out of, etc.
Origin of winkle
from uncertain or unknown; perhapsWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"winkle." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/winkle>.
APA Style
winkle. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/winkle
winkle
noun
ZoologyA periwinkle.
transitive verb
win·kled, win·kling, win·kles Chiefly BritishTo pry, extract, or force from a place or position. Often used with out.
Origin of winkle
From winkle 1 ( from the process of extracting periwinkles from their shells )THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"winkle." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/winkle>.
APA Style
winkle. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/winkle
Noun
(plural winkles)
- A periwinkle or its shell, of family Littorinidae.
- Any one of various marine spiral gastropods, especially, in the United States, either of two species Busycotypus canaliculata and Busycon carica.
- (children's slang) The penis, especially that of a boy rather than that of a man.
Origin
Short for periwinkle.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"winkle." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/winkle>.
APA Style
winkle. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/winkle
