Tinker — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts

formerly a person (traditionally a Gypsy) who traveled from place to place mending pots and kettles and other metal utensils as a way to earn a living

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/tˈɪŋkɚ/

🇬🇧British English

/tˈɪŋkə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/tˈɪŋkə/

2 syllables Say it as /tˈɪŋkɚ/.

Examples

The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house
Can you tinker with the T.V. set--it's not working right
She always fiddles with her van on the weekend

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

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

Parts of Speech

noun	a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts
noun	formerly a person (traditionally a Gypsy) who traveled from place to place mending pots and kettles and other metal utensils as a way to earn a living
noun	small mackerel found nearly worldwide
verb	do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly “The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house”
verb	work as a tinker or tinkerer
verb	try to fix or mend “Can you tinker with the T.V. set--it's not working right”

Word Forms

tinker	verb	do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly
putterer	noun	a person who putters about
potterer	noun	a person who putters about
tinker	noun	a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts
tinkerer	noun	a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts
fiddler	noun	an unskilled person who tries to fix or mend

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

basteln

eine Person, die Spaß daran hat, Maschinen und deren Teile zu reparieren und damit zu experimentieren

🇫🇷French

bricoler

une personne qui aime réparer et expérimenter des machines et leurs pièces

🇪🇸Spanish

gitano

una persona que disfruta arreglando y experimentando con máquinas y sus piezas

🇮🇹Italian

armeggiare

una persona a cui piace riparare e sperimentare macchine e le loro parti

🇳🇱Dutch

sleutelen

iemand die het leuk vindt om machines en hun onderdelen te repareren en ermee te experimenteren

🇵🇹Portuguese

funileiro

uma pessoa que gosta de consertar e experimentar máquinas e suas peças

🇷🇺Russian

возиться

человек, который любит чинить и экспериментировать с машинами и их частями

India

🇮🇳Hindi

टिन से मढ़नेवाला

एक व्यक्ति जिसे मशीनों और उनके हिस्सों को ठीक करने और उनके साथ प्रयोग करने में आनंद आता है

🇧🇩Bengali

টিঙ্কার

একজন ব্যক্তি যিনি ফিক্সিং এবং মেশিন এবং তাদের যন্ত্রাংশ নিয়ে পরীক্ষা-নিরীক্ষা উপভোগ করেন

🇮🇳Tamil

டிங்கர்

இயந்திரங்கள் மற்றும் அவற்றின் பாகங்களை சரிசெய்தல் மற்றும் பரிசோதனை செய்வதை ரசிக்கும் நபர்

🇮🇳Telugu

టింకర్

యంత్రాలు మరియు వాటి భాగాలతో ఫిక్సింగ్ మరియు ప్రయోగాలు చేయడం ఆనందించే వ్యక్తి

🇮🇳Marathi

टिंकर

मशीन आणि त्यांचे भाग निश्चित करणे आणि प्रयोग करण्यात आनंद घेणारी व्यक्ती

🇮🇳Gujarati

ટિંકર

એક વ્યક્તિ જે મશીનો અને તેના ભાગોને ઠીક કરવા અને પ્રયોગ કરવામાં આનંદ લે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಟಿಂಕರ್

ಯಂತ್ರಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಅವುಗಳ ಭಾಗಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಫಿಕ್ಸಿಂಗ್ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಆನಂದಿಸುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ടിങ്കർ

യന്ത്രങ്ങളും അവയുടെ ഭാഗങ്ങളും ശരിയാക്കുന്നതും പരീക്ഷിക്കുന്നതും ആസ്വദിക്കുന്ന ഒരു വ്യക്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਟਿੰਕਰ

ਉਹ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਜੋ ਮਸ਼ੀਨਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਹਿੱਸਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਫਿਕਸਿੰਗ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਯੋਗ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਅਨੰਦ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

ٹنکر

وہ شخص جو مشینوں اور ان کے پرزوں کو ٹھیک کرنے اور تجربہ کرنے سے لطف اندوز ہوتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

修补匠

喜欢修理和试验机器及其零件的人

🇯🇵Japanese

いじる

機械やその部品を修理したり実験したりするのが好きな人

🇰🇷Korean

땜장이

기계와 부품을 고치고 실험하는 것을 즐기는 사람

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thợ sửa chữa

một người thích sửa chữa và thử nghiệm máy móc và các bộ phận của chúng

🇹🇭Thai

คนจรจัด

ผู้ที่ชื่นชอบการซ่อมและทดลองใช้เครื่องจักรและชิ้นส่วนต่างๆ

🇮🇩Indonesian

menggerumit

seseorang yang senang memperbaiki dan bereksperimen dengan mesin dan bagian-bagiannya

🇵🇭Filipino

mangungulit

isang taong nasisiyahan sa pag-aayos at pag-eksperimento sa mga makina at mga bahagi nito

🇲🇾Malay

bermain-main

seorang yang gemar membaiki dan bereksperimen dengan mesin dan bahagiannya

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

العبث

شخص يستمتع بإصلاح وتجربة الآلات وأجزائها

🇮🇷Persian

قلع و قمع

فردی که از تعمیر و آزمایش ماشین ها و قطعات آنها لذت می برد

🇹🇷Turkish

tamircilik

Makineleri ve parçalarını tamir etmekten ve onlarla denemeler yapmaktan hoşlanan kişi

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְנַסוֹת לְתַקֵן

אדם שנהנה לתקן ולהתנסות במכונות ובחלקיהן

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'tinker'?

The primary meaning of 'tinker' is 'a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'tinker' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'tinker' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'tinker' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'tinker' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'tinker' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'tinker' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'tinker' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'tinker' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'tinker' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'tinker' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted