pachinko

[ puh-ching-koh ]

noun

1. a Japanese pinball game played on a vertical machine in which slots struck by the player's ball release other balls that in turn are exchanged for noncash prizes.

pachinko

/ pəˈtʃɪŋkəʊ /

noun

1. a Japanese game similar to pinball

Word History and Origins

Origin of pachinko¹

1950–55; < Japanese, equivalent to pachin click! (imitative) + -ko diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of pachinko¹

C20: possibly from Japanese pachin, imitative of the sound of a ball being fired by a trigger

Example Sentences

It also makes toys and pachinko and so-called “pachislot” machines, and owns intellectual property in animation works.

From Seattle Times

They had no experience in the business — Sadao’s family owned a Tokyo pachinko parlor — but figured it would be easier to master than other trades.

From Los Angeles Times

A construction crane snapped and a window at a pachinko parlor was shattered in Kagoshima city, southwestern Japan.

From Seattle Times

Pagcor said that only Okada himself would be recognised henceforth, in compliance with a Philippine Supreme Court order in April that reinstated the pachinko mogul as chairman, stockholder and director of Tiger Resort.

From Reuters

In the weeks and months that followed, shopping centres switched off escalators, factories pared back assembly line times, and pachinko gambling parlours - famous for their flashing lights and noisy machines - were temporarily shut.

From Reuters