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\ ˈpliŋk 
\
\plinked; plinking; plinks
Definition of plink
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to make a tinkling sound
2 : to shoot at random targets in an informal and noncompetitive manner
plink
nounDefinition of plink (Entry 2 of 2)
: a tinkling metallic sound
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Examples of plink in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Bushnell’s Deploy reticle is among the simplest of the hash-mark-heavy options out there, and 4.5- to 27-power provides ridiculous versatility, whether plinking at long-range or cleaning up prairie dogs.
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Michael R. Shea, Field & Stream, "The 10 Best Rimfire Scopes for Any Budget," 3 Jan. 2020 The hours spent plinking with such a toy can instill a love of archery that lasts a lifetime.
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The Editors, Outdoor Life, "Three Ways to Get Kids Interested in Archery," 20 Nov. 2019 Then there are a few plinking synths, but in the end this is just about the lyrics.
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Raisa Bruner, Time, "The 5 Best Songs of the Week, From Selena Gomez to Frank Ocean," 25 Oct. 2019 Fielding a request to do a spontaneous piece, Wheaton starts with an up-tempo, plinking line of notes, adds a brisk allegro melody that plays in syncopation against it, and finally pipes in a series of cascading arpeggios.
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Rand Richards Cooper, courant.com, "In Our Midst: Gabriel Wheaton’s classical, contemporary, opulent and wildly eclectic one-man band," 15 Nov. 2019 Knots of golfers in colorful shirts were plinking balls in all directions.
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Los Angeles Times, "‘Rez golf’: Where fairways are dirt and hazards include goats," 17 Oct. 2019 Brock Holt grounded a single to center to tie the game, Michael Chavis shot a soft liner to right for another run, and after a bases-loading walk and a strikeout, Mookie Betts plinked a run-scoring dribbler to third for a 3-1 lead.
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Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, "Oh, look, the Red Sox took a series from a good team," 19 June 2019 Water was dripping from a crack in the roof to a bucket below, plinking all night long.
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Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "The Physics Behind a Leaky Faucet’s Maddening ‘Plink’," 25 June 2018 Agarwal also found that soapy water prevents the air bubble from oscillating well enough for a droplet to plink.
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Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "Here’s What Makes a Dripping Faucet Go ‘Plink’," 22 June 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun With a series of plinks, the stomach contents slumped out onto the metal sieve below.
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Rachel Becker, The Mercury News, "Seabirds eating plastic. Recyclers struggling. This is what California’s waste crisis looks like," 3 Aug. 2019 The recognizable plink occurs only when a water droplet lands in water; a drop landing on a dry, wooden surface leaves only a dull thud.
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Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "Here’s What Makes a Dripping Faucet Go ‘Plink’," 22 June 2018 Researchers have also spent the last century or so trying to figure out how the plink sound is produced.
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Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "The Physics Behind a Leaky Faucet’s Maddening ‘Plink’," 25 June 2018 In 2017, Agarwal took the question to an undergraduate lab at Cambridge, which used high-speed cameras, an underwater microphone, and a microphone on dry land to capture precisely when and how a falling droplet of water plinks.
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Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "Here’s What Makes a Dripping Faucet Go ‘Plink’," 22 June 2018 The first, which is built around Malik’s velvet vocals, a heartrending melody and spare, sonar-plink sonics builds -- and improves -- on his debut album’s sound.
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Jonathan Ringen, Billboard, "Zayn Opens Up About Conquering Anxiety, Prepping Album No. 2 -- and Why He's Been Living on a Farm," 2 Nov. 2017 Classical music plinks softly from speakers overhead.
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Emily Anthes, New York Times, "The Mystery of the Wasting House-Cats," 16 May 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plink.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for plink
The first known use of plink was in 1916
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