winkle

American  

[wing-kuhl] / ˈwɪŋ kəl /

noun

1. any of various marine gastropods; periwinkle.

---

verb (used with object)

winkles, present (3rd person singular) winkled, past participle, past winkling present participle

1. Informal. to pry (something) out of a place, as winkle meat is dug out of its shell with a pin (usually followed byout ).

winkle British  

/ ˈwɪŋkəl /

noun

1. See periwinkle 1

---

verb

1. informal (tr; usually foll by out, out of, etc) to extract or prise out

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• winkling
  present
• winkled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• winkle
  simple
• winkles
  simple
• have winkled
  perfect
• has winkled
  perfect
• are winkling
  progressive
• am winkling
  progressive
• is winkling
  progressive
• have been winkling
  perfect progressive
• has been winkling
  perfect progressive

Past

• winkled
  simple
• had winkled
  perfect
• was winkling
  progressive
• were winkling
  progressive
• had been winkling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will winkle
  simple
• will have winkled
  perfect
• will be winkling
  progressive
• will have been winkling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of winkle

First recorded in 1575–85; short for periwinkle ¹

Example Sentences

He was at his best when he managed to winkle out sensitive details of a guest's life without appearing prurient.

From BBC • Aug. 17, 2023

As with Revere’s ride, it can be hard to winkle out the truth.

From Economist • Jul. 20, 2017

“So that’s the kind of thing, I think the withholding of information is pretty important and for now for you to winkle it out of us in a Q&A would really blow it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2015

Now he was using his lawyers to winkle information out of federal investigators, even as he dangled a promise of becoming a witness for the prosecutors.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2015

‘Peep your head up good,’ the BFG said, ‘then you will get a fine winkle of what is going on.’

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl