What does "clinker" mean?
A very hard brick used for paving customarily made in the Netherlands.
Clinker
/ˈklɪŋkɚ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A very hard brick used for paving customarily made in the Netherlands.
- Grammar: clinker is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adobe, alluvion, alluvium, ash.
- Useful contrasts: carvel hull, raw ash, raw material.
- Usage evidence: She left the road at the little shed where he whom she still regarded as her father used to keep his tricycle, and walked up the clinker path towards the house.
How to use "clinker"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clinker" 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 "clinker" 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 "clinker" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clinker" 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 "clinker" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "adobe" 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.
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Final meaning check
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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 very hard brick used for paving customarily made in the Netherlands. countable, uncountable
"She left the road at the little shed where he whom she still regarded as her father used to keep his tricycle, and walked up the clinker path towards the house."
- 2 Someone or something that clinks.
- 3 A style of boatbuilding using overlapping planks. attributive, uncountable
"clinker planking; a clinker dinghy"
- 4 a hard brick used as a paving stone wordnet
- 5 A mass of bricks fused together by intense heat. countable, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Fetters. in-plural
- 7 a fragment of incombustible matter left after a wood or coal or charcoal fire wordnet
- 8 Slag or ash produced by intense heat in a furnace, kiln or boiler that forms a hard residue upon cooling. countable, uncountable
"The coal was terrible stuff—Indian, Abdul told me. The "dart" was used often and I saw some monster clinkers."
- 9 An intermediate product in the manufacture of Portland cement, obtained by sintering limestone and alumino-silicate materials such as clay into nodules in a cement kiln. countable, uncountable
- 10 Hardened volcanic lava. countable, uncountable
"This wall of rock, which had no doubt once formed the lip of the crater, was about a mile and a half thick, and still covered with clinker."
- 11 A scum of oxide of iron formed in forging. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To convert or be converted into clinker. ambitransitive
"This burning has baked and clinkered the adjacent strata, producing a very resistant formation, which rises with conspicuous abruptness from the flat terrace underlain by the soft Lebo shale member."
- 2 turn to clinker or form clinker under excessive heat in burning wordnet
- 3 clear out the cinders and clinker from wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
carvel hullraw ashraw materialunfused ash
Example
"She left the road at the little shed where he whom she still regarded as her father used to keep his tricycle, and walked up the clinker path towards the house."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clinker"?
Common synonyms include: adobe, alluvion, alluvium, ash, ashes, ashlar.
How do you use "clinker" in a sentence?
She left the road at the little shed where he whom she still regarded as her father used to keep his tricycle, and walked up the clinker path towards the house.
How do you pronounce "clinker"?
Pronounced /ˈklɪŋkɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Dutch klinkaerd, later klinker, from klinken (“to ring, resound”).
Etymology 2
From clink + -er.
Etymology 3
From clincher.