tinkerer

T1I1N1K5E1R1E1R1
US/ˈtɪŋk.ɚ.ɚ/

noun

A meddler.

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

nountinkerer (plural tinkerers)

plural tinkerers

  1. agentAgent noun of tinker; one who tinkers with things.

    Part of why both books dragged on so long is that Mr. Talese, who once worked for The New York Times, is a perfectionist, an obsessive tinkerer and rewriter, and also a famously meticulous reporter and researcher who spurns devices like composite characters and faked identities.

    2009 April 16, Charles McGrath, “Sex and Crime, the Updates: Gay Talese Is Back on the Beat”, in The New York Times
    1 more example

    Make magazine, which celebrates “your right to tweak, hack and bend any technology to your own will,” has joined with the New York Hall of Science to gather more than 500 of the craftiest inventors, artists, technology enthusiasts, tinkerers and hobbyists to share their expertise.

    2011 September 15, Rachel Lee Harris, “The World Maker Faire in Queens Draws Inventors”, in The New York Times

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan unskilled person who tries to fix or mend

Similar

nouna person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 修補匠 /修补匠
  • 修補匠 /修补匠person who tinkers with things
Esperanto ladisto
  • ladistoperson who tinkers with things
Finnish nikkari
  • nikkariperson who tinkers with things
French ferblantier
  • ferblantierperson who tinkers with things
German Tüftler
  • Tüftlerperson who tinkers with things
Italian pensatore
  • pensatoreperson who tinkers with things
Russian уме́лец
  • уме́лец (umélec)person who tinkers with things
Turkish tamirci
  • tamirciperson who tinkers with things

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

tinkerer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tinkerer

MLA

“tinkerer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tinkerer. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tinkerer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tinkerer.

Source: tinkerer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.