noun C1 Advanced Uncommon

tinker

TIHNG-kuh

Tinker (noun) means a traveling mender of pots, pans, and other metal household items. Example: “The old tinker went from village to village fixing kettles.”

noun

A traveling mender of pots, pans, and other metal household items.

"The old tinker went from village to village fixing kettles."

"Her grandfather worked as a tinker before the factories took over."

verb

To fiddle or experiment with something in an amateur, exploratory way, trying to fix or improve it.

"He spent Sunday afternoon tinkering with the old motorbike."

"Don't tinker with the settings unless you know what you're doing."

How to use tinker

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo mess about with something mechanical or technical, making small adjustments to try to fix or improve it.

Common mistake

As a noun it can also mean an itinerant mender of pots and pans, or (informally, and now dated/offensive in some uses) a member of the Traveller community — the verb sense ("to tinker with") is by far the most common use today.

Common pairings

tinker with tinker around a bit of tinkering

Word forms

tinkered past tense, tinkers plural, tinkers singular

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Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

The old _____ went from village to village fixing kettles.

Etymology

From Middle English tynkere, likely from tin plus an old suffix used for trades — the same pattern seen in "beekeeper."

Origin: Middle English

Synonyms

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monkey potter fiddle putter tinkerer muck about mess around muck around chub mackerel monkey around

Related words

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Rhymes for tinker

sinker pinker blinker thinker stinker Drinker

See all rhymes for tinker →

Frequently asked questions

What does “tinker” mean?

The word “tinker” means a traveling mender of pots, pans, and other metal household items. In plain terms, to mess about with something mechanical or technical, making small adjustments to try to fix or improve it.

How do you pronounce “tinker”?

“Tinker” is pronounced TIHNG-kuh (/ˈtɪŋkɚ/ in IPA).

How do you use “tinker” in a sentence?

Here is “tinker” used in a sentence: “The old tinker went from village to village fixing kettles.”

What part of speech is “tinker”?

Depending on how it is used, “tinker” can be a noun and a verb.

Where does the word “tinker” come from?

The word “tinker” comes from Middle English. From Middle English tynkere, likely from tin plus an old suffix used for trades — the same pattern seen in "beekeeper.".

Is “tinker” a common word?

“Tinker” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the C1 level.

How many meanings does “tinker” have?

“Tinker” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a traveling mender of pots, pans, and other metal household items.

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