tchotchke

noun

tchotch·​ke ˈchäch-kə 

-kē,

ˈtsäts- 

plural tchotchkes

: knickknack, trinket

Carlene's furniture was garish and awful and every shelf or corner held tchotchkes and gewgaws and other tacky trinkets.

—Ingrid Law

… collecting every sort of art, from Old Masters to precious textiles, from rare books and manuscripts to antique tchotchkes.

—Diane Wood Middlebrook

Still crowding his apartment and warehouses is an assemblage that includes pre-Columbian and African statuary, Charles Eames chairs, bent-wood furniture, postage stamps, patent models, busts of Roman emperors and, Wilder readily admits, tchotchkes.

—Susan Reed and Doris Bacon

Did you know?

Just as trinkets can dress up your shelves or coffee table, many words for "miscellaneous objects" or "nondescript junk" decorate our language. Knickknack, doodad, gewgaw, and whatnot are some of the more common ones. We also have gimcrack, bauble, and bibelot. While many such words are of unknown origin, we know that tchotchke comes from the Yiddish word tshatshke of the same meaning, and ultimately from a now-obsolete Polish word, czaczko. Tchotchke is a pretty popular word these days, but it wasn't commonly used in English until the 1970s.

Synonyms

• bauble
• bibelot
• curio
• curiosity
• doodad
• gaud
• gewgaw
• geegaw
• gimcrack
• kickshaw
• knickknack
• nicknack
• novelty
• ornamental
• trinket

Examples of tchotchke in a Sentence

shelves cluttered with tchotchkes from a lifetime of vacations

Recent Examples on the Web

Friendship stores selling specialty foodstuffs, silks, and Maoist tchotchkes emerged to meet demand from both Chinese immigrants seeking familiar comforts and Americans fascinated by the exotic wares. —Mark Tseng-Putterman / Made By History, TIME, 10 Mar. 2025

Designs tchotchkes, like key rings, for a car dealership. —Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025

Animals are also a common theme of spring, so bring out your cutest tchotchkes and knick-knacks as spring mantel decor. —Abby Wolner, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Feb. 2025

The shop carries clothing and accessories from the 30s to the 90s, as well as housewares, tchotchkes and vintage musical instruments. —Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish tshatshke trinket, from obsolete Polish czaczko

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

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