dinkey

noun

din·​key ˈdiŋ-kē How to pronounce dinkey (audio)
variants or dinky
plural dinkeys or dinkies
: a small locomotive

Word History

Etymology

probably from dinky

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dinkey was in 1874

Rhymes for dinkey

See All Rhymes for dinkey

Browse Nearby Words

dinker
dinkey
dinking die
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dinkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dinkey. Accessed 14 May. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See More

Popular

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All