tinker
Word family nountinkerertinkeringtinker
tin·ker1 /ˈtɪŋkə $ -ər/ verb [intransitiveI] REPAIRto make small changes to something in order to repair it or make it work better 做小改动,做小修补;摆弄tinker with Congress has been tinkering with the legislation. 国会一直在对这项立法做些小修小补。
tinker around with something Dad was always tinkering around with engines. 爸爸总是在摆弄发动机。
tinker2 noun [countableC] 1. BOin the past, a tinker was someone who travelled from place to place selling things or repairing metal pots, pans etc 〔旧时走街串巷的〕小贩,补锅匠 tinker• We can not do without his cunning, or his tinker friends.• Even the tinkers camped nearby were packing up their few belongings and preparing to leave.• He suddenly remembered her carefully veiled amusement when he had mentioned the tinkers.• The tinker plainly knew what she was about, because there was not one single piece of junk to be seen. Origin tinker2 (1200-1300) Perhaps from
tink (
→ TINKLE2); from the sounds made by someone mending a metal pot