fink
/fɪŋk/
fink noun: a contemptible person. Also the pronunciation spelling of think.
Noun (1)
fink (plural finks)
- A contemptible person.
- Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:jerk, Thesaurus:idiot
- An informer.
- A strikebreaker.
Verb
fink (third-person singular simple present finks, present participle finking, simple past and past participle finked)
- To betray a trust; to inform on.
- “I move that we determine through a thorough investigation whether the new worker is a fink or no; and if he is a fink, let us discover who heʼs finking for!”1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 222
Noun (2)
fink (plural finks)
- Any of several birds in the family Ploceidae native to southern Africa.
Proper noun capitalized: Fink
Fink (plural Finks)
- A surname.
Also used as
fink is also the pronunciation spelling of think.
fink meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali
fink in Hindi
- फिंक, फिन्क, फ़िंक
fink in Tamil
- ஃபிங்க், ஃபின்க், ஃபிங்க் செய்ய
fink in Marathi
- फिंक, फिन्क, फिंक करण्यासाठी
fink in Bengali
- ফিঙ্ক
More languagesFewer languages
- fink in Telugu
- ఫింక్, ఫిన్క్, ఫింక్ చెయ్యడానికి
- fink in Malayalam
- ഫിങ്ക്, ഫിൻക്, ഫിങ്ക് ചെയ്യാൻ
- fink in Kannada
- ಫಿಂಕ್, ಫಿನ್ಕ್
- fink in Punjabi
- ਫਿੰਕ
- fink in Gujarati
- ફિન્ક, ફિંક
- fink in Odia
- ଫିଙ୍କ, ଫିଙ୍କ୍
- fink in Nepali
- फिङ्क, फिन्क, फिङ्क गर्न
Synonyms of fink
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of fink
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | finks |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | finks |
| present participle | finking |
| past participle | finked |
| past | finked |
| past participle | fought |
| past | fought |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Finks |
Origin of fink
Unknown; first attested in 1894. A connection to Yiddish as some propose is unlikely. Suggested origins include: * German Fink (“finch; frivolous or dissolute person; informer”) as finches are notoriously chatty birds in groups. If so, then Doublet of finch. Compare canary (“informer”). * Partly from the German theory, a fanciful association by students with the freedom of wild birds as opposed to caged ones. * The slang name pink for Pinkerton agents and their use as strikebreakers in the 1892 Homestead strike. If the term is from the corporate name, then it is of Scots origin, Pinkerton being from a place near Dunbar, which is from an unrecognized first element (possibly ultimately pre-Celtic substrate) and Old English tūn (“enclosure, homestead, etc.”).
Borrowed from Afrikaans vink.
Words formed from fink
Phrases with fink
Words that rhyme with fink
Questions about fink
- What does fink mean?
- Fink means a contemptible person.
- What is fink in Hindi?
- Fink in Hindi is फिंक, फिन्क, फ़िंक. See Fink meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is fink?
- Fink can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce fink?
- Fink is pronounced /fɪŋk/.
- What is the plural of fink?
- The plural of fink is finks.
Words near fink in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: fink (page history and authors); Fink (page history and authors); fink (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fink (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-fink.ogg.
Cite this entry: “fink.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fink. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.