Jink
//d͡ʒɪŋk// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A quick evasive turn.
- 2 A jack or knucklebone used in the game of jinks (possibly derived from the Scottish game high jinks).
Verb
- 1 To make a quick evasive turn or turns to confuse pursuers, incoming fire, etc. intransitive
"But faith! he'll turn a corner jinkin, / An' cheat you yet."
- 2 To cause a vehicle to make a quick evasive turn. transitive
"Jink it he did. Norton pushed the aircraft left just as he was at the bottom of his loop."
- 3 In the games of spoilfive and forty-five, to win the game by taking all five tricks; also, to attempt to win all five tricks, losing what has been already won if unsuccessful. intransitive
- 4 To elude; to cheat.
Example
More examples"But faith! he'll turn a corner jinkin, / An' cheat you yet."
Etymology
Origin uncertain. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests onomatopoeia for motion. Attested since the 18th century. Compare unnasalised dialectal jick (“to avoid with a sudden jerk of the body, elude”).
Related phrases
More for "jink"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.