tinkerer


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tin·ker

 (tĭng′kər)
n.
1. A traveling mender of metal household utensils.
2. Chiefly British A member of any of various traditionally itinerant groups of people living especially in Scotland and Ireland; a traveler.
3. One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts.
4. A clumsy repairer or worker; a meddler.
v. tin·kered, tin·ker·ing, tin·kers
v.intr.
1. To work as a tinker.
2. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repair; fiddle: tinkered with the engine, hoping to discover the trouble; tinkering with the economy by trying various fiscal policies.
v.tr.
1. To mend as a tinker.
2. To manipulate unskillfully or experimentally.

[Middle English tinkere.]

tin′ker·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.tinkerer - an unskilled person who tries to fix or mend
unskilled person - a person who lacks technical training
2.tinkerer - a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their partstinkerer - a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts
experimenter - a person who enjoys testing innovative ideas; "she was an experimenter in new forms of poetry"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
References in periodicals archive ?
He then proceeds to ignore the book of Genesis, and completely misinterprets it in his acknowledgment of "intelligent design." First, he says that God is depicted as a "tinkerer." Not so, and that word was never used in Genesis.
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