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clinker

1 American  
[kling-ker] / ˈklɪŋ kər /

noun

Slang.

  1. any mistake or error.

  2. something that is a failure; a product of inferior quality.

  3. a wrong note in a musical performance.

  4. British. someone or something wonderful or exceedingly well-liked.

clinker 2 American  
[kling-ker] / ˈklɪŋ kər /

noun

  1. a person or thing that clinks.

clinker 3 American  
[kling-ker] / ˈklɪŋ kər /

noun

  1. a mass of incombustible matter fused together, as in the burning of coal.

  2. a hard Dutch brick, used especially for paving.

  3. a partially vitrified mass of brick.

  4. the scale of oxide formed on iron during forging.

  5. Geology. a mass of vitrified material ejected from a volcano.

verb (used without object)

  1. to form clinkers in burning.

clinker British  
/ ˈklɪŋkə /

noun

  1. the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire

  2. Also called: clinker brick.  a hard brick used as a paving stone

  3. a partially vitrified brick or mass of brick

  4. slang something of poor quality, such as a film

  5. slang a mistake or fault, esp a wrong note in music

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) to form clinker during burning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of clinker1

First recorded in 1830–40; special use of clinker 2

Origin of clinker2

First recorded in 1680–90; clink 1 + -er 1

Origin of clinker3

First recorded in 1635–45; from Dutch klinker (formerly klinkaerd ) “slag”; also a kind of brick, derivative of klinken, clinken “to clink” (from the sound the material makes when struck)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On a recent visit, workers at Conch’s sprawling clinker facility monitored the AI model as it automatically adjusted production in real time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

The house is wrapped in clinker brick, a term for when clay bricks are set too close to the flames when being fired in a kiln, giving them distorted shapes and colors.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

"She has made enough ridiculous rulings in this case that nobody should be surprised if she makes another clinker," he told Salon.

From Salon • Aug. 12, 2024

"We found the combination of cement clinker and iron oxide is an excellent steelmaking slag because it foams and it flows well," said Dunant.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2024

By April the berries were in and a post-and- beam shed-barn, and by summer Carl could be seen framing up walls and mortaring clinker brick.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.