Tinker
noun
A person who repairs things in a makeshift way, often while traveling.
The tinker fixed the broken pot with some wire he had in his bag.
Often appears as...
- itinerant tinker
- traveling tinker
verb
To try to repair or improve something by making small changes or fine adjustments.
He spent the weekend tinkering with his car.
Often appears as...
- tinker with something
- tinker around
verb
To spend time aimlessly, messing about with inconsequential things.
She's always tinkering in the garden.
Often appears as...
- tinkering about
- tinkering around
noun
A member of a nomadic people, traditionally of Irish, Scottish and English origin.
The tinker family set up their camp outside the village.
Often appears as...
- romany tinker
- irish tinker
noun
A person who repairs things in a makeshift way, often while traveling.
The tinker fixed the broken pot with some wire he had in his bag.
Often appears as...
- itinerant tinker
- traveling tinker
verb
To try to repair or improve something by making small changes or fine adjustments.
He spent the weekend tinkering with his car.
Often appears as...
- tinker with something
- tinker around
verb
To spend time aimlessly, messing about with inconsequential things.
She's always tinkering in the garden.
Often appears as...
- tinkering about
- tinkering around
noun
A member of a nomadic people, traditionally of Irish, Scottish and English origin.
The tinker family set up their camp outside the village.
Often appears as...
- romany tinker
- irish tinker
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/2Old-fashioned Term
Tinker as a noun describing a person often feels historical or outdated.
In old stories, a tinker would travel from town to town.
Pro Tip 2/2Specific Skill
A tinker traditionally repaired metal household items, not everything.
Can you find a tinker to mend this copper kettle?
Pro Tip 1/2Old-fashioned Term
Tinker as a noun describing a person often feels historical or outdated.
In old stories, a tinker would travel from town to town.
Pro Tip 2/2Specific Skill
A tinker traditionally repaired metal household items, not everything.
Can you find a tinker to mend this copper kettle?
Pro Tip 1/2Old-fashioned Term
Tinker as a noun describing a person often feels historical or outdated.
In old stories, a tinker would travel from town to town.
Pro Tip 2/2Specific Skill
A tinker traditionally repaired metal household items, not everything.
Can you find a tinker to mend this copper kettle?
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Video examples
David Mackay: A reality...
That was when I was reading the meter every week. And my life changed, because I started doing experiments and seeing what made a difference. My gas consumption plummeted, because I started tinkering with the thermostat and the timing on the heating system, and I knocked more than half off my gas bills. There's a similar story for my electricity consumption,
Video examples
How to decarbonize the...
There are some secrets here, and they're really important if we want to solve climate change. Let me give you two of the secrets. First, you have to go where the tons are. Follow the tons. Follow the tons. And this is such an obvious idea, but it's amazing how many policies tinker around the edges. I call it green paint.
Video examples
A reality check on...
the meter every week and my life changed because I'd started doing experiments and seeing what made a difference and my gas consumption plummeted because I started tinkering with the thermostat and the timing on the heating system and I knocked more than a half off my gas bills there's a similar story for my
Video examples
Poverty isn't a lack of...
Why don't we just change the context in which the poor live? Or, going back to our computer Why keep tinkering around with the software when we can easily solve the problem by installing some extra memory instead? At that point, Professor Shafir responded with a blank look. And after a few seconds, he said,
Video examples
When technology...
cellular material of viruses bacteria and plants and animals equals and should there be different bars for tinkering with various life-forms for the sake of research versus education versus entertainment and if there are more bacterial cells in our body than human cells and if we can grow human cells in
Video examples
The Real-Life MacGyver...
regular people including me and my brothers gawking at the television in our living room cousteau helped us see the hidden world inside the ocean and realized that we had to protect it none of that could have happened without an engineer tinkering and discovering a better way to capture those images
Video examples
Pamela Ronald: The case...
I feel it's very important to talk about a specific crop and a specific product, and think about the needs of the consumer. So part of what's happening here is that there's a mental model in a lot of people that nature is nature, and it's pure and pristine, and to tinker with it is Frankensteinian.
Video examples
Steve Ramirez and Xu...
So everything we've been talking about today is based on this philosophically charged principle of neuroscience that the mind, with its seemingly mysterious properties, is actually made of physical stuff that we can tinker with. And for me personally, I see a world where we can reactivate
Video examples
Dear Facebook, this is...
who are passionately working on a product that they truly believe makes the world a better place, but as long as the company continues to merely tinker around the margins of content policy and moderation, as opposed to considering how the entire machine is designed and monetized,
Video examples
How to Attract a Bird! PIPE...
rearranged center stage the mossy pillar is surrounded by constantly evolving design by continually tinkering with his
Video examples
David Mackay: A reality...
That was when I was reading the meter every week. And my life changed, because I started doing experiments and seeing what made a difference. My gas consumption plummeted, because I started tinkering with the thermostat and the timing on the heating system, and I knocked more than half off my gas bills. There's a similar story for my electricity consumption,
Video examples
How to decarbonize the...
There are some secrets here, and they're really important if we want to solve climate change. Let me give you two of the secrets. First, you have to go where the tons are. Follow the tons. Follow the tons. And this is such an obvious idea, but it's amazing how many policies tinker around the edges. I call it green paint.
Video examples
A reality check on...
the meter every week and my life changed because I'd started doing experiments and seeing what made a difference and my gas consumption plummeted because I started tinkering with the thermostat and the timing on the heating system and I knocked more than a half off my gas bills there's a similar story for my
Video examples
Poverty isn't a lack of...
Why don't we just change the context in which the poor live? Or, going back to our computer Why keep tinkering around with the software when we can easily solve the problem by installing some extra memory instead? At that point, Professor Shafir responded with a blank look. And after a few seconds, he said,
Video examples
When technology...
cellular material of viruses bacteria and plants and animals equals and should there be different bars for tinkering with various life-forms for the sake of research versus education versus entertainment and if there are more bacterial cells in our body than human cells and if we can grow human cells in
Video examples
The Real-Life MacGyver...
regular people including me and my brothers gawking at the television in our living room cousteau helped us see the hidden world inside the ocean and realized that we had to protect it none of that could have happened without an engineer tinkering and discovering a better way to capture those images
Video examples
Pamela Ronald: The case...
I feel it's very important to talk about a specific crop and a specific product, and think about the needs of the consumer. So part of what's happening here is that there's a mental model in a lot of people that nature is nature, and it's pure and pristine, and to tinker with it is Frankensteinian.
Video examples
Steve Ramirez and Xu...
So everything we've been talking about today is based on this philosophically charged principle of neuroscience that the mind, with its seemingly mysterious properties, is actually made of physical stuff that we can tinker with. And for me personally, I see a world where we can reactivate
Video examples
Dear Facebook, this is...
who are passionately working on a product that they truly believe makes the world a better place, but as long as the company continues to merely tinker around the margins of content policy and moderation, as opposed to considering how the entire machine is designed and monetized,
Video examples
How to Attract a Bird! PIPE...
rearranged center stage the mossy pillar is surrounded by constantly evolving design by continually tinkering with his
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
David Harbour
American Actor
I was very resistant to my intellectualism for a while. I do start with an intellectual idea for a character. A lot of the times, it'll be the opposite of what I feel like is on the page, or it'll be just an idea that I read in a psychology textbook or in a philosophy book. I'll apply something to it that I can start to tinker with.
Quote examples
Mike Flanagan
American Director
I forget who said it, but there's that saying: 'Films are never finished, they're abandoned.' There's always something you think you can improve on, but I don't think you should try. George Lucas started doing it, and didn't stop. You can tinker indefinitely, and it doesn't necessarily make it better.
Quote examples
Beth Simone Noveck
American Public Servant
Starting early and getting girls on computers, tinkering and playing with technology, games and new tools, is extremely important for bridging the gender divide that exists now in computer science and in technology.
Quote examples
Deepak Chopra
American Speaker
From a scientist's perspective, to understand everything that you need to know about human beings, you only have to tinker with all the mechanical parts of genes and the brain until there are no more secrets left.
Quote examples
Johnathon Schaech
American Actor
Dark Circles' is a great relationship/character piece and also a horror film. It tinkered with the genre, which I loved. I was sick of seeing the same thing, sick of people just trying to get a movie made.
Quote examples
Drew Scott
Canadian Actor
Building and tinkering were such a huge part of our childhood, whether we were trying to entertain ourselves as kids, helping our parents out on the ranch, or getting creative with school projects.
Quote examples
Ravi Shastri
Indian Coach
I am more into fine-tuning, mindsets, and how you play the game. Very rarely will I go and tinker with a player unless I think it is needed.
Quote examples
Woody Norris
American Inventor
I wasn't much into girlfriends. I was too busy tinkering in the garage.
Quote examples
Lonnie Johnson
American Inventor
I've always liked to tinker with things.
Quote examples
Francois Jacob
French Scientist
Evolution is a tinkerer.
Quote examples
David Harbour
American Actor
I was very resistant to my intellectualism for a while. I do start with an intellectual idea for a character. A lot of the times, it'll be the opposite of what I feel like is on the page, or it'll be just an idea that I read in a psychology textbook or in a philosophy book. I'll apply something to it that I can start to tinker with.
Quote examples
Mike Flanagan
American Director
I forget who said it, but there's that saying: 'Films are never finished, they're abandoned.' There's always something you think you can improve on, but I don't think you should try. George Lucas started doing it, and didn't stop. You can tinker indefinitely, and it doesn't necessarily make it better.
Quote examples
Beth Simone Noveck
American Public Servant
Starting early and getting girls on computers, tinkering and playing with technology, games and new tools, is extremely important for bridging the gender divide that exists now in computer science and in technology.
Quote examples
Deepak Chopra
American Speaker
From a scientist's perspective, to understand everything that you need to know about human beings, you only have to tinker with all the mechanical parts of genes and the brain until there are no more secrets left.
Quote examples
Johnathon Schaech
American Actor
Dark Circles' is a great relationship/character piece and also a horror film. It tinkered with the genre, which I loved. I was sick of seeing the same thing, sick of people just trying to get a movie made.
Quote examples
Drew Scott
Canadian Actor
Building and tinkering were such a huge part of our childhood, whether we were trying to entertain ourselves as kids, helping our parents out on the ranch, or getting creative with school projects.
Quote examples
Ravi Shastri
Indian Coach
I am more into fine-tuning, mindsets, and how you play the game. Very rarely will I go and tinker with a player unless I think it is needed.
Quote examples
Woody Norris
American Inventor
I wasn't much into girlfriends. I was too busy tinkering in the garage.
Quote examples
Lonnie Johnson
American Inventor
I've always liked to tinker with things.
Quote examples
Francois Jacob
French Scientist
Evolution is a tinkerer.
Example 1 of 10
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