tinkerverb [ I usually + adv/prep ]
uk/ˈtɪŋ.kər/us/ˈtɪŋ.kɚ/to make small changes to something, especially in an attempt to repair or improve it:
He spends every weekend tinkering (around) with his car.
I wish the government would stop tinkering with the health service.
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fiddle verb
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Correcting and mending
- clean (sth) up
- correction
- fiddle (around) with sth
- fine-tune
- fix sth up
- lie
- mess
- patch
- reconstruction
- refine
- refinement
- refit
- remediate
- revised
- smooth
- sort sth/sb out
- troubleshooting
- tune
- under repair idiom
- work on sth
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tinkernoun
uk/ˈtɪŋ.kər/us/ˈtɪŋ.kɚ/tinker noun (TRAVELLER)
[ C ] especially in the past, a person who travelled from place to place, repairing pans or other metal containers
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Travellers & visitors
- a rolling stone (gathers no moss) idiom
- backpacker
- carpool
- commuter
- daily passenger
- fare
- flyer
- frequent flier
- guest of honour
- hitchhike
- hobo
- holidaymaker
- office-goer
- passenger
- peripatetic
- pilgrim
- pioneer
- tourist office
- vacationer
- visitor
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tinker noun (CHILD)
[ C ] UK old-fashioned informal a child who behaves badly:
[ as form of address ] You tinker, Nicky, you shouldn't have done that.
Don't be such a tinker.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Children & babies
- a mouth to feed idiom
- arrival
- babe
- babe in arms
- baby
- childlike
- childproof
- children
- crawler
- designer baby
- only child
- oops-a-daisy
- pacifier
- papoose
- perisher
- toilet-trained
- tomboy
- tot
- tyke
- urchin
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tinker noun (CHANGES)
[ S ] UK the activity of making small changes to something:
I'll just have a tinker with the TV and see if I can get it to work.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Correcting and mending
- clean (sth) up
- correction
- fiddle (around) with sth
- fine-tune
- fix sth up
- lie
- mess
- patch
- reconstruction
- refine
- refinement
- refit
- remediate
- revised
- smooth
- sort sth/sb out
- troubleshooting
- tune
- under repair idiom
- work on sth
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Idiom(s)
not give a tinker's cuss