as in amateur
a person who regularly or occasionally engages in an activity as a pastime rather than as a profession
he's been tinkering with cars since he was a kid, and now he's a tinkerer who knows nearly as much as a mechanic
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Recent Examples of tinkerer
The Mac mini has become a status symbol among AI tinkerers, and some analysts say the device’s growing popularity may preface a broader shift in how people use computers.
—
Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Cronenworth has always been quite the worker and quite the tinkerer in the cage.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Rather than targeting end users, the company aims to empower developers, researchers, and tinkerers to create breakthrough humanoid applications without building full robots from scratch.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
Dedicated sports engineers and tinkerers alike continue to fine tune specialized skate designs.
—Mark Hay, Popular Science, 28 Jan. 2026
Blanc, who lived in Des Moines, Iowa, wasn’t the first tinkerer to try unclogging drains by running a cable through pipes.
—Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Jan. 2026
Micron’s Crucial brand sold memory on sticks that tinkerers could use to build their own PCs or upgrade their laptops.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2025
The Ringbrothers Kingpin was unveiled at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show (SEMA) in Las Vegas, which is a haven for aftermarket wizards, tuners, and auto tinkerers of all stripes.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025
How would the tinkerer-in-chief Guardiola galaxy-brain his way around this clash of styles?
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Cronenworth has always been quite the worker and quite the tinkerer in the cage.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Rather than targeting end users, the company aims to empower developers, researchers, and tinkerers to create breakthrough humanoid applications without building full robots from scratch.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
Dedicated sports engineers and tinkerers alike continue to fine tune specialized skate designs.
—Mark Hay, Popular Science, 28 Jan. 2026
Blanc, who lived in Des Moines, Iowa, wasn’t the first tinkerer to try unclogging drains by running a cable through pipes.
—Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Jan. 2026
Micron’s Crucial brand sold memory on sticks that tinkerers could use to build their own PCs or upgrade their laptops.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2025
The Ringbrothers Kingpin was unveiled at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show (SEMA) in Las Vegas, which is a haven for aftermarket wizards, tuners, and auto tinkerers of all stripes.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025
How would the tinkerer-in-chief Guardiola galaxy-brain his way around this clash of styles?
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkerer
Noun
-
Fellow amateur Asterisk Talley had an early double bogey in a 70 in the 17-year-old's first start since losing the lead on the back nine at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Given these circumstances, most of the music written for mandolin (eighty-five volumes were published in Paris between 1761 and 1783) was intended for amateurs, often women.—
Tim Parks,
New Yorker,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Group of beginners, hobbyists and professionals who like to take and share photos.—
Staff Report,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The Prize is not open to hobbyists, students, or artists whose work has been sold for $35,000 or more, or who have received an award, prize, or other recognition for their art in that amount.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The pipeline will provide up to 185,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas, an industry term that Fore admitted was difficult to explain for laymen.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
-
From my layman’s perspective, this seemed promising, plus the attorney seemed invested.—
Jasper Craven,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The first are the dabblers: latecomers finally spending some quality time with their chief technology officers.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Splurges: There are whiskey dabblers, and then there are serious Irish whiskey aficionados.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tinkerer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkerer. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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