tinker
An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal.
Noun
- An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal.
- The blacksmith chased us all to ground They searched all night we were never found The tinker boys and the sheriff's men Shaking the tallest tree. - 1988, “Mayhem Maybe”, in Ian Anderson (music), 20 Years of Jethro...
- A member of the Irish Traveller community or of other itinerant groups; a gypsy.
- A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
- Someone who repairs, or attempts repair, on anything mechanical, or who invents such devices; one who tinkers; a tinkerer.
- An act of repair or invention.
- I'll have a tinker and see what I can do.
- A hand mortar.
- Any of various fish: chub mackerel, silverside, skate, or young mackerel about two years old.
- A razor-billed auk, a bird of species (Alca torda).
Origin
From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).
Forms
Synonyms
Derived
if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands tinkerbird tinkerer tinkerlike tinkerly tinker tailor grass
Verb
- To work as a tinker.
- To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.
- the broken bureau-lock and tinkered window-pane - 1894, Thomas Hardy, A Few Crusted Characters:
- As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds. - 2012 January 5, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in...
- And because he wants to show that he is a dominant male, he tinkered the engine of his motorbike to make it even noisier. - 2013, Eric Goulard, Body Language Secrets Revealed: