as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
I once spent a night in the clink, and it's an experience I don't want to repeat
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clink
Leanne Shapton, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The low hum of jazz drifts through the air, mingling with warm lighting and the quiet clink of glasses.
—Kate Hardcastle, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2026
Later on, the younger kids in bed, a gathering of lawn chairs, clinking ice, and summer crickets or cicadas, frogs, whatever, Ray, what is that?
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clink
Noun
Particles and blur and the muffled clink and thump of the paddleboard.
—Leanne Shapton, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The low hum of jazz drifts through the air, mingling with warm lighting and the quiet clink of glasses.
—Kate Hardcastle, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
Verb
So the pair took a romp through wine country for Christina’s birthday, clinking glasses at Progeny Winery in Napa Valley and Restoration Hardware in Yountville.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2026
Later on, the younger kids in bed, a gathering of lawn chairs, clinking ice, and summer crickets or cicadas, frogs, whatever, Ray, what is that?
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clink
Noun
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The woman’s name will be released after she is identified by the coroner, and the suspect’s name after he is booked into jail, the department said.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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The Prince George’s County Department of Corrections held a baptism service for the first time in its history at the jail in Upper Marlboro.—
Jasmine Golden,
Washington Post,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Netflix and Amazon jingled all the way to some big audiences on Christmas Day, thanks to the NFL.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2025
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The city’s more than 25-year-old parade marched down Crown Valley Parkway Saturday morning, Dec. 13, jingling all the way.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
14 Dec. 2025
Noun
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He was charged with sedition and sent to a federal prison in North Dakota.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
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Harrell left the band the following year and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2015.—
Jim Beaugez,
Rolling Stone,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The marbled, frescoed, octagonal room was domed to amplify the sound of a tinkling keys at the center, and hosted regular recitals.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
9 Feb. 2026
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The Drawing Room is best for afternoon teas accompanied by a tinkling piano.—
Lydia Bell,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Azcarate sentenced Magalhaes to 10 years in the penitentiary and two years suspended.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
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Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Calls for the actress to drop her curl routine rang throughout TikTok as soon as the first episode aired, alongside speculation that her hair wasn’t real.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
15 Feb. 2026
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Brian Miller, who was fired in June 2019 for hiding behind his car as the first shots rang out at the school, got his job back with back pay less than a year later after an arbitrator ruled in his favor.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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One of our challenges was thinking up a good chinking method that wouldn’t take an entire month.—
Tasha Zemke,
Outside Online,
24 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Her victory, however, is likely to further rattle China, Japan’s neighbor and biggest trade partner.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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Anthropic, one of the more outspoken companies in the artificial intelligence space, rattled stocks with the seeming superpowers of its Claude chatbot, prompting a selloff across the software sector with potential obsolescence suddenly knocking at its door.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clink. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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