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 19th-century patent system rewarded tinkerers; corporate labs scaled systematic research; wartime partnerships mobilized national resources; and venture capital democratized risk-taking.
—
David H. Hsu, Fortune, 11 May 2026
Unlike her earlier Fame Monster remixes, which served utilitarian club fodder to capitalize on her debut, Dawn delightfully surrendered its source material to a wise cast of pop, rap, and dance tinkerers like Ashnikko and Dorian Electra.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 4 May 2026
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
Woo has always been a builder, a tinkerer, a fixer.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 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
David H. Hsu, Fortune, 11 May 2026
Unlike her earlier Fame Monster remixes, which served utilitarian club fodder to capitalize on her debut, Dawn delightfully surrendered its source material to a wise cast of pop, rap, and dance tinkerers like Ashnikko and Dorian Electra.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 4 May 2026
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
Woo has always been a builder, a tinkerer, a fixer.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkerer
Noun
-
The chain began in New York in 2017 and focused on group boxing classes and resistance training sessions, spanning difficulty levels from amateur to professional.—
Emma Hall,
Sacbee.com,
4 June 2026
-
Ganne played in the final group of the 2021 Open as a 17-year-old high schooler at Olympic Club in San Francisco, eventually finishing as the top amateur.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Both hobbyists and pros have benefited from technological advancements that have led to faster shoes and better nutrition.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
-
The threat posed by drones goes beyond someone who intends to do harm — even hobbyists can be dangerous.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
What may shock the layman, though, is that all three of those schools also have strong baseball programs as well.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
-
Some prominent conservative Catholic laymen, like Fox News host Sean Hannity, have risen to Trump’s defense.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 1937, Stalin, himself a former dabbler in the language, reversed course on Esperanto and herded its speakers into gulags on account of its internationalist appeal.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
-
Some CEOs are using tokens to track how their teams are deploying AI, from the productive tokenmaxers overhauling their departments to the tone-deaf dabblers squandering compute on useless projects.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tinkerer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkerer. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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