clinker
clink·er/ˈklɪŋkɚ/noun, verb
clinker is spelled C-L-I-N-K-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (clink·er). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clinker means “A very hard brick used for paving customarily made in the Netherlands” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clinker is clinkers.
How many letters and syllables are in clinker?
| Letters | 7: C-L-I-N-K-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: clink·er |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clinker?
Clinker appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce clinker?
- UK /ˈklɪŋkə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈklɪŋkɚ/
Clinker has 2 syllables, split clink·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-clinker.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with clinker?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as clinker from its last stressed vowel (/ɪŋkəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: crinkle.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of clinker
- clinkers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- clinkering participle, present
- clinkered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clinker mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A very hard brick used for paving customarily made in the Netherlands.
- 2
A mass of bricks fused together by intense heat.
- 3
Slag or ash produced by intense heat in a furnace, kiln or boiler that forms a hard residue upon cooling.
- 4
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.
- 5
Hardened volcanic lava.
- 6
A scum of oxide of iron formed in forging.
- 7
Someone or something that clinks.
- 8
Fetters.
- 9
slangA mistake or blunder.
- 10
A style of boatbuilding using overlapping planks.
clinker planking; a clinker dinghy
verb
- 1
To convert or be converted into clinker.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clinker in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Schlacke , Klinkerbauweise |
| Portuguese | clínquer, clinker |
| Spanish | tingladillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does clinker come from?
From Dutch klinkaerd, later klinker, from klinken (“to ring, resound”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).