/ ˈkɒŋkə(r); NAmE ˈkɑːŋ-/ noun ( informal , especially BrE )
1.
[ C ] the smooth shiny brown nut of the horse chestnut tree
—compare chestnut , horse chestnut
2.
conkers [ U ] ( BrE ) a children's game played with conkers on strings, in which two players take turns to try to hit and break each other's conker
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 19th cent. (a dialect word denoting a snail shell, with which the game, or a form of it, was originally played): perhaps from conch , but associated with (and frequently spelled) conquer in the 19th and early 20th cents: an alternative name was conquerors .