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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pink.

A color reminiscent of pinks, the flowers.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. A color reminiscent of pinks, the flowers.

    countable · uncountable
    My new dress is a wonderful shade of pink.
  2. A color reminiscent of pinks, the flowers. Magenta, the colour evoked by red and blue light when combined.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A color reminiscent of pinks, the flowers. Pale red.

    countable · uncountable
  4. Any of various flowers of that colour in the genus Dianthus, sometimes called carnations.

    countable · uncountable
    This garden in particular has a beautiful bed of pinks.
  5. A perfect example; excellence, perfection; the embodiment of some quality.

    countable · dated · uncountable
    Your hat, madam, is the very pink of fashion.
  6. Hunting pink; scarlet, as worn by hunters.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A huntsman.

    countable · uncountable
  8. One of the colour balls used in snooker, coloured pink, with a value of 6 points.

    countable · uncountable
    Oh dear, he's left himself snookered behind the pink.
  9. An unlettered and uncultured, but relatively prosperous, member of the middle classes; compare Babbitt, bourgeoisie.

    countable · slang · uncountable
  10. Alternative form of pinko.

    alt-of · alternative · countable · uncountable
  11. The vagina or vulva.

    countable · slang · uncountable
  12. A pink dye or pigment.

    countable · uncountable
  13. A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of pink pigment.

    countable · uncountable
  14. Something, or a part of a thing, which is pink.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Origin uncertain; perhaps from Dutch pinken (“to blink”) or the English verb pink from the same source. Perhaps from the notion of the petals being pinked. An earlier word for similar flesh-like colors, mostly displaced by pink, was incarnation ([1300s]; see Etymonline) and carnation.

adj/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. Having a colour between red and white; pale red.

  2. Of a fox-hunter's jacket: scarlet.

  3. Having conjunctivitis.

  4. By comparison to red (communist), supportive of socialist ideas but not actually socialist or communist.

  5. Relating to women or girls.

    informal
    pink-collar
    pink job
  6. Relating to homosexuals as a group within society.

    informal
    the pink economy
    pink pound
Where this word comes from

Origin uncertain; perhaps from Dutch pinken (“to blink”) or the English verb pink from the same source. Perhaps from the notion of the petals being pinked. An earlier word for similar flesh-like colors, mostly displaced by pink, was incarnation ([1300s]; see Etymonline) and carnation.

verb/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. To become pink in color, to redden.

    intransitive
  2. To turn (something) pink.

    transitive
  3. To turn (a topaz or other gemstone) pink by the application of heat.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Origin uncertain; perhaps from Dutch pinken (“to blink”) or the English verb pink from the same source. Perhaps from the notion of the petals being pinked. An earlier word for similar flesh-like colors, mostly displaced by pink, was incarnation ([1300s]; see Etymonline) and carnation.

noun/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. A common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus0.

    regional
  2. A young Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, before it becomes a smolt; a parr.

    regional
Where this word comes from

Unknown. Some lexicographers suggest comparison to regional German Pinke (“minnow; small salmon”), but this is not widely accepted.

noun/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. A narrow boat.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Middle Dutch pincke. Compare French pinque.

verb/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. To decorate a piece of clothing or fabric by adding holes or by scalloping the fringe.

  2. To prick with a sword.

  3. To wound by irony, criticism, or ridicule.

Where this word comes from

Probably ultimately imitative, or from Dutch pingelen (“to do fine needlework”) or Low German [Term?]; compare Low German pinken (“hit, peck”) and Pinke (“big needle”).

noun/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. A small hole made by puncturing something, as with a rapier, dagger, or pinking iron. A small hole or puncture made by a sharp, slender instrument such as a rapier, poniard or dagger, or (by extension) a bullet; a stab.

    obsolete
  2. A small hole made by puncturing something, as with a rapier, dagger, or pinking iron. A small hole or eyelet punched in a garment for decoration, as with a pinking iron; a scallop.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Probably ultimately imitative, or from Dutch pingelen (“to do fine needlework”) or Low German [Term?]; compare Low German pinken (“hit, peck”) and Pinke (“big needle”).

verb/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. Of a motor car, to emit a high "pinking" noise, usually as a result of ill-set ignition timing for the fuel used (in a spark ignition engine).

  2. Of a musical instrument, to sound a very high-pitched, short note.

Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic. Compare ping.

verb/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. To wink; to blink.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Dutch pinken.

adj/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. Half-shut; winking.

    not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Dutch pinken.

noun/ˈpɪŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈpʰɪŋk]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈpiŋk/[ˈpʰiŋk]
  1. Any of various lake pigments or dyes in yellow, yellowish green or brown shades, made with plant coloring and a metallic oxide base.

    historical · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Unknown. Attested from the late 15th century.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.