gimcrack

play

noun gim·crack \ ˈjim-ˌkrak \

Definition of gimcrack

:a showy object of little use or value :gewgaw

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gimcrackery

play \ˈjim-ˌkra-k(ə-)rē\ noun

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Examples of gimcrack in a Sentence

a remarkable amount of money is spent on gimcracks and other unnecessary items each year
that woman has enough gimcracks to fill up a novelty company's mail-order catalog

Recent Examples of gimcrack from the Web

The designer Vicki Mortimer has created a set that feels like a gimcrack warehouse, full of old ladders and lights and puppet-stage-like window frames.

— ben brantley, New York Times, "with the headline: Summertime, and the Revivals are Breezy.," 16 Aug. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gimcrack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Gimcrack is only one of many peculiar-sounding words that have pervaded our language to refer to something ornamental and of little value. Others include bauble, trinket, knickknack, gewgaw, kickshaw and tchotchke. Bauble appears to be the oldest among the group, with usage dating back to the 14th century. Gewgaw and kickshaw first appeared in the 16th century, whereas gimcrack and knickknack established themselves in the 17th century. Tchotchke, borrowed from the Yiddish, is by far the most recent addition to our language, only first appearing as an English word in the 1970s.