Link Centre Dictionary

chink

UK/t͡ʃɪŋk/ US/ˈtʃɪŋk/ uncommon archaic dated
noun (3) verb (3)

noun

1.
2.

a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall

3.

verb

1.

make or emit a high sound

  • “tinkling bells”
Synonyms
2.

fill the chinks of, as with caulking

3.

make cracks or chinks in

  • “The heat checked the paint”
Synonyms

Origin

There are several possible origins of the term: * From the Chinese courtesy ching-ching, a reduplication of Mandarin 請 /请 (qǐng, “please”). Compare chin-chin, Italian cincin, Portuguese tchim-tchim, tim-tim, Spanish chinchín, French tchin-tchin. * From the alteration of China. * From the alteration of Qing (also spelled Ch'ing). See also Hokkien 親家 /亲家 (chhin-ke, “any relative by marriage (to a Chinese family)”).

Phrases

  • chink cough
  • chink in the armor
  • chink in the armour
  • chink up

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.