WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tin•ker /ˈtɪŋkɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
v. [no object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a mender of pots and pans who wanders from place to place seeking work.
- an unskillful or clumsy worker.
v. [no object]
- to work with a thing without useful results:She likes to tinker with the car.
- to work clumsily at anything.
tin•ker
(ting′kər),USA pronunciation n.
v.i.
v.t.
tin′ker•er, n.
- a mender of pots, kettles, pans, etc., usually an itinerant.
- an unskillful or clumsy worker;
bungler. - a person skilled in various minor kinds of mechanical work;
jack-of-all-trades. - an act or instance of tinkering:Let me have a tinker at that motor.
- British Terms[Scot., Irish Eng.]
- Scottish Termsa gypsy.
- Scottish Termsany itinerant worker.
- Scottish Termsa wanderer.
- Scottish Termsa beggar.
- FishSee chub mackerel.
v.i.
- to busy oneself with a thing without useful results:Stop tinkering with that clock and take it to the repair shop.
- to work unskillfully or clumsily at anything.
- to do the work of a tinker.
v.t.
- to mend as a tinker.
- to repair in an unskillful, clumsy, or makeshift way.
- Middle English tinkere (noun, nominal), syncopated variant of tinekere worker in tin 1225–75