tenpin

noun ten·pin \ ˈten-ˌpin \

|Updated on: 3 Jun 2018

Definition of tenpin

1 : a bottle-shaped bowling pin 15 inches high

2 tenpins plural in form but singular in construction : a bowling game using 10 tenpins and a large ball 27 inches in circumference and allowing each player to bowl 2 balls in each of 10 frames

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Recent Examples of tenpin from the Web

Perfect scores of 300 in tenpins are rare, but not that rare.

— baltimoresun.com, "Best of Baltimore 2018: Arts and activities," 11 Apr. 2018
But regardless, duckpin bowling, with smaller pins and balls than the more traditional tenpins, was a regional obsession, played by thousands who flocked to their neighborhood lanes at seemingly every free moment.

— chris kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, "Duckpin bowling returning to Parkville with reopening of Parkville Lanes," 2 Aug. 2017
The Weber Cup — the tenpin bowling equivalent of the Ryder Cup — was started in 2000 (the Europeans now dominate the Americans in that one, too).

— christopher clarey, New York Times, "Ryder Cup Victory a Reflection of European Unity OCT. 4, 2010," 25 Sep. 2016

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