chink

¹

[ chingk ]

noun

1. a crack, cleft, or fissure:

   a chink in a wall.

   Synonyms: cut, rent, breach

2. a narrow opening:

   a chink between two buildings.

verb (used with object)

1. to fill up chinks in.

chink

²

[ chingk ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make, or cause to make, a short, sharp, ringing sound, as of coins or glasses striking together.

noun

1. a chinking sound:

   the chink of ice in a glass.

2. Slang. coin or ready cash.

Chink

³

[ chingk ]

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Chinese person.

Chink

¹

/ ˈtʃɪŋkɪ; tʃɪŋk /

noun

1. an old-fashioned and highly derogatory term for Chinese

chink

²

/ tʃɪŋk /

noun

1. a small narrow opening, such as a fissure or crack
2. chink in one's armour
   a small but fatal weakness

verb

1. tr to fill up or make cracks in

chink

³

/ tʃɪŋk /

verb

1. to make or cause to make a light ringing sound, as by the striking of glasses or coins

noun

1. such a sound

Derived Forms

• ˈchinky, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chink¹

1350–1400; Middle English; perhaps chine ¹ + -k suffix ( -ock )

Origin of chink²

First recorded in 1565–75; imitative

Origin of chink³

1900–05; earlier Chinkie apparently alteration of China, Chinese by association with chink ¹ (from the stereotypical Western image of Chinese as narrow-eyed); -ie

Word History and Origins

Origin of chink¹

C20: probably from Chinese, influenced by chink ¹(referring to the characteristic shape of the Chinese eye)

Origin of chink²

C16: perhaps variant of earlier chine, from Old English cine crack; related to Middle Dutch kene, Danish kin

Origin of chink³

C16: of imitative origin

Example Sentences

As I became an adult and started to make my own mistakes — as I started to understand the weight a person’s decisions can carry — I found myself longing to find a single chink in his armor; some flaw of his that would let me put my own problems into context.

From Los Angeles Times

As I became an adult and started to make my own mistakes — as I started to understand the weight a person’s decisions can carry — I found myself longing to find a single chink in his armor; some flaw of his that would let me put my own problems into context.

From Los Angeles Times

As the party reflects on its heavy losses in local elections, some Tory MPs have been framing Mr Street's defeat as a chink of light in a black horizon.

From BBC

He tottered about, shivering, and stuffed every open chink as well as he could with his palsied paws, until no light came through anywhere.

From Literature

In over two decades spent inside Israeli prisons, Sinwar reportedly learned fluent Hebrew and studied Israeli society, and he identified a chink in the armor of his militarily superior adversary.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• crevice
• fissure