Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to tinker
Participle: tinkered
Gerund: tinkering
Cognates
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Indicative
Present
| I | tinker |
| you | tinker |
| he;she;it | tinkers |
| we | tinker |
| you | tinker |
| they | tinker |
Perfect
| I | have tinkered |
| you | have tinkered |
| he;she;it | has tinkered |
| we | have tinkered |
| you | have tinkered |
| they | have tinkered |
Past
| I | tinkered |
| you | tinkered |
| he;she;it | tinkered |
| we | tinkered |
| you | tinkered |
| they | tinkered |
Pluperfect
| I | had tinkered |
| you | had tinkered |
| he;she;it | had tinkered |
| we | had tinkered |
| you | had tinkered |
| they | had tinkered |
Future
| I | will tinker |
| you | will tinker |
| he;she;it | will tinker |
| we | will tinker |
| you | will tinker |
| they | will tinker |
Future Perfect
| I | will have tinkered |
| you | will have tinkered |
| he;she;it | will have tinkered |
| we | will have tinkered |
| you | will have tinkered |
| they | will have tinkered |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | tinker |
| you | tinker |
| he;she;it | tinker |
| we | tinker |
| you | tinker |
| they | tinker |
Perfect
| I | have tinkered |
| you | have tinkered |
| he;she;it | have tinkered |
| we | have tinkered |
| you | have tinkered |
| they | have tinkered |
Imperfect
| I | tinkered |
| you | tinkered |
| he;she;it | tinkered |
| we | tinkered |
| you | tinkered |
| they | tinkered |
Pluperfect
| I | had tinkered |
| you | had tinkered |
| he;she;it | had tinkered |
| we | had tinkered |
| you | had tinkered |
| they | had tinkered |
Conditional
Present
| I | would tinker |
| you | would tinker |
| he;she;it | would tinker |
| we | would tinker |
| you | would tinker |
| they | would tinker |
Perfect
| I | would have tinkered |
| you | would have tinkered |
| he;she;it | would have tinkered |
| we | would have tinkered |
| you | would have tinkered |
| they | would have tinkered |
Imperative
| you | tinker |
| we | Let's tinker |
| you | tinker |
Verbs conjugated like 'tinker'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'tinker'
linker,
tanker,
tinder,
bicker,
binner,
blinker,
bunker,
canker,
cinder,
clinker,
Additional Information
Etymology
1. "mender of kettles, pots, pans, etc.," 1252 (as a surname), of uncertain origin. Some connect the word with the sound made by light hammering on metal. The verb meaning "to keep busy in a useless way" is first found 1658. Tinker's damn "something slight and worthless" is from 1824, preserving tinkers' reputation for free and casual use of profanity.
2. From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).
Sample Sentences
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the broken bureau-lock and tinkered window-pane [1894, Thomas Hardy, A Few Crusted Characters:]
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As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds. [2012 January 26, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2013, page 31:]
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And because he wants to show that he is a dominant male, he tinkered the engine of his motorbike to make it even noisier. [2013, Eric Goulard, Body Language Secrets Revealed:]
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We're not just talking about changes that tinker around the edges - we're looking to take advantage of some of the world's latest digital and tech developments to improve our service. [2020 May 20, “Network News: LNER seeks innovation through FutureLabs project”, in Rail, page 14:]