plink

[ plingk ]

verb (used without object)

1. to shoot, as with a rifle, at targets selected at whim:

   to plink at coins tossed in the air.

2. to make a series of short, light, ringing sounds.

verb (used with object)

1. to shoot at for practice or amusement, as with a rifle:

   to plink bottles set along a fence railing.

2. to cause to make a series of short, light, ringing sounds.

noun

1. a plinking sound.

plink

/ plɪŋk /

noun

1. a short sharp often metallic sound as of a string on a musical instrument being plucked or a bullet striking metal

verb

1. intr to make such a noise
2. to hit (a target, such as a tin can) by shooting or to shoot at such a target

Derived Forms

• ˈplinking, nounadjective

Other Words From

• plinker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of plink¹

First recorded in 1965–70; imitative

Word History and Origins

Origin of plink¹

C20: of imitative origin

Example Sentences

And the ingenious, rhythm-forward production of “Boomerang” makes her obsession sound like a village-wide celebration, with the plink of a thumb piano, flamenco-like handclaps, a thudding reggaeton bass line and a rowdy backup chorus that cheerfully supports her misplaced affections.

From New York Times

And the ingenious, rhythm-forward production of “Boomerang” makes her obsession sound like a village-wide celebration, with the plink of a thumb piano, flamenco-like handclaps, a thudding reggaeton bass line and a rowdy backup chorus that cheerfully supports her misplaced affections.

From New York Times

In a review of her second solo album, “Both Worlds *69,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution praised Gangsta Boo’s versatility: “Over slight variations of the same round-and-round keyboard plink, Boo becomes a sassy stripper confronting cheap patrons on ‘Can I Get Paid?’.

From Washington Post

But inside this room, Parker’s audience is clearly made up of the nightlife’s most committed citizens, and once their conversations go quiet, assorted glasses and bottles continue to plink from behind the bar, sending some kind of Morse-coded announcement about verisimilitude: The jazz you are about to hear really happened somewhere.

From Washington Post

One by one, they dropped into a tin can with a dull plink, and the surgeon then began sewing up the wound.

From Literature