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
Founded by engineers, designers, and lifelong tinkerers frustrated by the barriers to traditional CNC manufacturing, the company’s mission is to make powerful digital fabrication tools smarter, simpler, and more accessible.
—
New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2025
This Space Cowboys vibe makes sense because this tech boom looks less like the last one — social apps powered by subway ads and nap pods — than the 1980s PC revolution, powered by tinkerers with motherboards and soldering irons.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2025
The deal gives Qualcomm direct access to the tinkerers, hobbyists and companies at the lowest levels of the robotics industry.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025
The tinkerer was a socialite and widow named Josephine Cochrane.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
His uncle Leo, a naval engineer, noticed that his nephew was a budding tinkerer and gave him a Kodak photo-chemistry set for his sixth birthday.
—Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025
At $3,499, it is clearly not priced for small-scale tinkerers.
—Dave Altavilla, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2025
This Space Cowboys vibe makes sense because this tech boom looks less like the last one — social apps powered by subway ads and nap pods — than the 1980s PC revolution, powered by tinkerers with motherboards and soldering irons.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2025
The deal gives Qualcomm direct access to the tinkerers, hobbyists and companies at the lowest levels of the robotics industry.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025
The tinkerer was a socialite and widow named Josephine Cochrane.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
His uncle Leo, a naval engineer, noticed that his nephew was a budding tinkerer and gave him a Kodak photo-chemistry set for his sixth birthday.
—Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025
At $3,499, it is clearly not priced for small-scale tinkerers.
—Dave Altavilla, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkerer
Noun
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The dramatization of one of the darkest chapters in American crime history has drawn plaudits for sidestepping easy sensationalism about the Chicago contractor and amateur clown who murdered 33 boys in the 1970s, burying them in a crawl space beneath his house.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The first study, in the journal Nature, focused primarily on amateur (and a few professional) football players, all of whom died by 50.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For decades, Popular Science has highlighted the work of hobbyists.—
Laura Kiniry,
Popular Science,
22 Oct. 2025
-
There are accounts with millions of followers and a flock of smaller hobbyists, all posting near-interchangeable updates on what’s for sale.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For laymen, these molecules are involved in chemical reactions that lead to more complex molecules essential to organic life.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
-
In layman’s terms, that means partner universities will be adjusting course to target skills that employers have identified aren’t being taught in a classroom setting.—
Austin Hornbostel,
Nashville Tennessean,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Not dabblers in the slave trade, tycoons of the slave trade.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
-
David Byrne came from Baltimore by way of Scotland, a socially awkward dabbler in conceptualist experiments with photography and a veteran of various mediocre cover bands.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tinkerer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkerer. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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