1
: a small cleft, slit, or fissure
a chink in the fence
2
: a weak spot that may leave one vulnerable
his lawyers found a chink in the law
3
: a narrow beam of light shining through a chink
chinked; chinking; chinks
: to make a slight sharp metallic sound
: to cause to make a chink
offensive
—used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a person of Chinese birth or descent
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Verb (2)
Examples of chink in a Sentence
Noun (1)
before the tournament she studied tapes of her chief rival, looking for the chink in her game
plugged the chinks in the walls with mortar
Verb (2)
in the breeze the flag's chain chinked against the flagpole
Recent Examples on the Web
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 Aug. 2024
This is one more chink in the Fed’s armor, even if the rates do eventually converge.
—George Calhoun, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Tasha Zemke, Outside Online, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chink 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
That’s something the city badly needs, especially now, when the forces of entropy seem ready to exploit any chink and crevice.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 Aug. 2024
This is one more chink in the Fed’s armor, even if the rates do eventually converge.
—George Calhoun, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Verb
One of our challenges was thinking up a good chinking method that wouldn’t take an entire month.
—Tasha Zemke, Outside Online, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chink
Dictionary Entries Near chink
Cite this Entry
“Chink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chink. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chink
1 of 4 noun
: a narrow slit or crack
chink
2 of 4 verb
: to fill the chinks of
chinked a log hut with mud
chink
3 of 4 noun
: a short sharp sound
chink
4 of 4 verb
: to make or cause to make a short sharp sound
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share