the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
2. Also called: clinker brick
a hard brick used as a paving stone
3.
a partially vitrified brick or mass of brick
4. slang, mainly US
something of poor quality, such as a film
5. US and Canadian slang
a mistake or fault, esp a wrong note in music
verb
6. (intransitive)
to form clinker during burning
Word origin
C17: from Dutch klinker a type of brick, from obsolete klinckaerd, literally: something that clinks (referring to the sound produced when one was struck),from klinken to clink1
clinker in American English
(ˈklɪŋkər)
noun
1. Archaic
a very hard brick
2.
a hard mass of fused stony matter formed in a furnace, as from impurities in the coal
3. Slang
a.
a mistake or error; often, specif., a misplayed musical note
b.
a total failure
verb intransitive
4.
to form clinkers in burning
Word origin
Du klinker, vitrified brick that clinks when struck < klinckaerd < klinken, to ring
Examples of 'clinker' in a sentence
clinker
The scrunch of tyres on the clinker brought Lowery out on deck.
Forsythe, Malcolm THE BOOK LADY (2001)
He brought the car to a halt on a patch of clinker near the bank where the rear of a red Audi protruded from a shed.
Forsythe, Malcolm THE BOOK LADY (2001)
He put his hand into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a bubbly, burnt lump of clinker rock.
Neil Gaiman SMOKE AND MIRRORS (2001)
All related terms of 'clinker'
clinker block
a light building brick made from the ashes of coal, coke , etc, bonded together by cement and used esp for walls that bear relatively small loads
clinker brick
the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
clinker-built
(of a boat or ship) having a hull constructed with each plank overlapping that below
breeze block
A breeze-block is a large, grey brick made from ashes and cement.
klinker
the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire