I. ˈkiŋk intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English kinken — more at chink
dialect : to be seized with a kink : gasp convulsively (as in laughing or coughing)
II. noun
( -s )
dialect : a fit or paroxysm of coughing or laughter
the sister was in kinks of laughter — Donagh MacDonagh
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Dutch; akin to Middle Low German kinke kink — more at conger
1.
a. : a short and often tight twist or curl caused by a doubling or winding of something (as a rope or hair) upon itself
looped hose should be changed … to reverse folds and prevent kinks — G.E.Stecher
b. : a bend in something (as a line) otherwise straight : indentation , projection
a dozen curly streets with kinks in them — Thomas Wood †1950
a kink in a line on a graph
c. : a buckling of a railroad track due to longitudinal movement of the rails by creeping or expanding
2.
a. : a twist or turn in a person's nature or disposition : a mental or physical peculiarity : eccentricity , quirk
the kink in his psychology which made him such a menance to society — P.G.Wodehouse
a suspicious contempt for the intellectual life … is a kink in the American character — J.J.Wright
b. : an odd notion : whim
got a kink in her head that diamonds she must have — Julian Hawthorne
3. : a clever and often unusual idea or method of doing something
every kink … time-saver, or quality-improvement suggestion entered in the contest — Textile Industries
cost-cutting shop kinks — U.S. Daily
4. : a cramp or stiffness in some part of the body : crick
taking the kinks out of his legs — Sinclair Lewis
5.
a. : an imperfection (as in design or construction) that is likely to cause difficulties in the operation of something
to spot the kinks … that get into an airplane as a result of faulty design — G.W.Gray b.1886
number of kinks … to be ironed out of the system — Cecile Starr
b. : a particular type of imperfection in a crystal that is important in the theoretical study of plastic deformation
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to wind into or form a kink : become tightly twisted at one or more points
vinyl hose … will not kink — Monsanto Magazine
transitive verb
: to cause to form a kink : make a kink in
the sinkers are projected forward to kink the yarn around the needles — Full-Fashioned Knitting Machine Primer