What does "chink" mean?
A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack.
Chink
/t͡ʃɪŋk/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack.
- Grammar: chink is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: clink, abysm, abyss, aperture.
- Useful contrasts: blockage, close, closure.
- Usage evidence: A single ray of sunlight shone through a chink in the shuttered window.
How to use "chink"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "chink" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "chink" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "chink" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "chink" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "chink" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "clink" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "chink", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack.
"What a pity they didn’t stop up the chinks and the crannies though, and thrust in a little lint here and there."
- 2 A slight sound as of metal objects touching each other; a clink. countable
"She swallow, set the cup down like she want to break it, and the ice-blocks jump, make a chink sound."
- 3 Alternative form of kink (“gasp for breath”). alt-of, alternative
- 4 Alternative letter-case form of Chink. alt-of
- 5 A person of perceived Chinese ethnicity or descent. derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur
"Then her eyes, always alert for the affairs of her kitchen, fell on some action of the Chinese cook which aroused her violent disapproval. She turned on him with a torrent of abuse. The Chink was not backward to defend himself, and a very lively quarrel ensued."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a short light metallic sound wordnet
- 7 A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack.; A narrow beam or patch of light admitted by such an opening.
"I noticed a chink of light under the door."
- 8 Ready money, especially in the form of coins. archaic, colloquial, dated, uncountable
"to leave his chink to better hands"
- 9 A person of perceived East Asian descent. broadly, derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur
- 10 a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall wordnet
- 11 A chip or dent in something metallic.
"The warrior saw a chink in her enemy's armor, and aimed her spear accordingly."
- 12 A meal of Chinese food. ethnic, offensive, slur
"Let's order some Chink. Where's that menu? I think we've got the stuff we usually order circled. I'm starved!"
- 13 (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Chinese descent wordnet
- 14 A vulnerability or flaw in a protection system or in any otherwise formidable system. figuratively
"The chink in the theory is that the invaders have superior muskets."
Verb
- 1 To fill an opening such as the space between logs in a log house with chinking; to caulk. transitive
"to chink a wall"
- 2 To make a slight sound like that of metal objects touching. intransitive
"The coins were chinking in his pocket."
- 3 Alternative form of kink (“gasp for breath”). alt-of, alternative
- 4 make cracks or chinks in wordnet
- 5 To crack; to open. intransitive
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To cause to make a sharp metallic sound, as coins, small pieces of metal, etc., by bringing them into collision with each other. transitive
"He chinks his purse"
- 7 fill the chinks of, as with caulking wordnet
- 8 To cause to open in cracks or fissures. transitive
- 9 make or emit a high sound wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Chinese, or perceived to be Chinese. derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur
- 2 East Asian. derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur
Example
"A single ray of sunlight shone through a chink in the shuttered window."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "chink"?
Common synonyms include: clink, abysm, abyss, aperture, aperture, arroyo.
How do you use "chink" in a sentence?
A single ray of sunlight shone through a chink in the shuttered window.
How do you pronounce "chink"?
Pronounced /t͡ʃɪŋk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Of uncertain origin, but apparently an extension, with diminutive -k (see more at -ock), of Middle English chine (or, if already suffixed in Middle English, *chinek), from Old English ċine (“a crack, chine, chink”), equivalent to chine + -k.
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeic.
Etymology 3
There are several possible origins of the term: * From the Chinese courtesy ching-ching, a reduplication of Mandarin 請 /请 (qǐng, “please”). Compare chin-chin, Italian cincin, Portuguese tchim-tchim, tim-tim, Spanish chinchín, French tchin-tchin. * From the alteration of China. * From the alteration of Qing (also spelled Ch'ing). See also Hokkien 親家 /亲家 (chhin-ke, “any relative by marriage (to a Chinese family)”).