tink

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: tĭngk, IPA^(key): /tɪŋk/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Etymology 1

From Middle English tinken, of imitative origin. Compare ting.

Verb

tink (third-person singular simple present tinks, present participle tinking, simple past and past participle tinked)

1. To emit a high-pitched sharp or metallic noise.

   Jimmy heard the bells tink.

Synonyms

• tinkle

Related terms

• tingle

References

Noun

tink (plural tinks)

1. (dated) A sharp, quick sound; a tinkle.

Etymology 2

knit spelled backwards.

Verb

tink (third-person singular simple present tinks, present participle tinking, simple past and past participle tinked)

1. (knitting, slang, transitive) To unknit.
   • 2012, Amy Lane, A Knitter in His Natural Habitat, page 48:

     Stanley knitted when he should have purled and swore, tinking the knitting back to fix the flaw.

   • 2006, Heather Dixon, Not Your Mama's Knitting, page 89:

     If the stitch you need to fix is on the last or previous row, a bit of unknitting, or “tinking” as it is known by some knitters, is all that is needed to get back to the point where you can mend your mistake.

Etymology 3

Shortened from tinker.

Noun

tink (plural tinks)

1. (chiefly British and Ireland, offensive) A member of the travelling community. A gypsy.
   • 2000, David Brian Plummer, Merle: The Start of Dynasty, →ISBN, page 11:

     'Most have white eyes, which ain't natural in any beast, tame or wild, and they are considered unlucky - the tinks calls 'em moonpies, and most will avoid settling on farms where they are kept.

   • 2014, Alastair Macleod, The Traveller's Tale, →ISBN:

     Her family had a name that marked them out as tinks, only they weren't tinks anymore.

   • 2015, Andrew O'Hagan, The Illuminations, →ISBN, page 47:

     'Well, you should feel right at home,' Flannigan said. 'You love a bit of thieving, you and the rest of the fucken tinks you grew up with in the Emerald Toilet.'

Anagrams

• knit

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

From English think.

Verb

tink

1. to think
   • 2025 August 22, “2027 elections and oda tins wey increase mass insecurity - Chief of Defence staff”, in BBC News Pidgin:

     "Him (Ekpa) still dey undergo prosecution for Finland. So, we dey hopeful. Wen we tok about am, pipo bin tink say we dey make noise, but since dem arrest am, di Southeast don dey beta.

     "Him (Ekpa) still is undergoing prosecution in Finland. So, we are hopeful. When we talk about him, people think we are making noise, but since they arrested him, the Southeast is better."