sinker

[ sing-ker ]

noun

1. a person or thing that sinks.
2. a person employed in sinking, as one who sinks shafts.
3. a weight, as of lead, for sinking a fishing line or net below the surface of the water.
4. Slang. a doughnut or, sometimes, a biscuit or muffin.
5. Also called sinkerball. Baseball. a fastball that curves downward sharply as it reaches the plate.
6. diesinker ( def ).

sinker

/ ˈsɪŋkə /

noun

1. a weight attached to a fishing line, net, etc, to cause it to sink in water
2. a person who sinks shafts, etc
3. an informal word for doughnut
4. hook, line, and sinker
   See hook

Other Words From

• sink·er·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sinker¹

First recorded in 1520–30; 1870–75 in the sense “doughnut“; 1930–35 in the baseball sense; sink + -er ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see hook, line, and sinker .

Example Sentences

An array of curveballs, cutters and sinkers complemented it perfectly, holding the Yankees hitless over the first three innings.

From Los Angeles Times

“You hit Tatis with a sinker after he’s two for two with a bomb and a double off of him?”

From Los Angeles Times

“It was kind of nice not having to worry about sinkers in and cutters and curveballs and stuff like that for a day,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

"And they fell for it hook, line and sinker."

From BBC

I myself was what’s known as a “sinker”; in my youth, I’d learned to overcome fear of the water and to get around in it, but I never mastered technique.

From Salon

Related Words

• bun
• pastry