chink

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈchiŋk 

1

: a small cleft, slit, or fissure

a chink in the fence

2

: a weak spot that may leave one vulnerable

his lawyers found a chink in the law

3

: a narrow beam of light shining through a chink

chink

2 of 5

verb (1)

chinked; chinking; chinks

transitive verb

: to fill the chinks of (as by caulking)

chink a log cabin

chink

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

archaic : coin, money

2

: a short sharp sound

chink

4 of 5

verb (2)

chinked; chinking; chinks

intransitive verb

: to make a slight sharp metallic sound

transitive verb

: to cause to make a chink

Chink

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noun or adjective

ˈchiŋk 

offensive

—used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a person of Chinese birth or descent

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• Achilles' heel
• back
• jugular
• soft spot
• underbelly

Verb (2)

• clink
• jingle
• tingle
• tinkle

Examples of chink in a Sentence

Noun (1)

before the tournament she studied tapes of her chief rival, looking for the chink in her game

plugged the chinks in the walls with mortar

Verb (2)

in the breeze the flag's chain chinked against the flagpole

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Though 2024 didn't deliver a more conclusive answer to this mystery than any of the 25 years before it, a significant chink has appeared in the armor of dark energy, a tantalizing hint that could put scientists on the right path to solving this pressing cosmological puzzle. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 31 Dec. 2024

Encouragingly for the rest, there are chinks in the Madrid armor to exploit. —Henry Flynn, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024

Verb

One of our challenges was thinking up a good chinking method that wouldn’t take an entire month. —Tasha Zemke, Outside Online, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

probably alteration of Middle English chine crack, fissure

Noun (2)

imitative

Noun or adjective

perhaps alteration of Chinese

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1609, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1573, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1589, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun Or Adjective

1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chink

1 of 4 noun

ˈchiŋk 

: a narrow slit or crack

chink

2 of 4 verb

: to fill the chinks of

chinked a log hut with mud

chink

3 of 4 noun

: a short sharp sound

chink

4 of 4 verb

: to make or cause to make a short sharp sound