1. Try to fix or mend
   "Can you tinker with the T.V. set — it's not working right";
   - fiddle
    
2. Do random, unplanned work, activities or spend time idly
   "The teenagers messed around in the garage, tinkering with old bikes";
   - putter [N. Amer], mess around [informal], potter [Brit], monkey around [informal], muck about [Brit, informal], muck around [Brit, informal]
    
3. Work as a tinker or tinkerer
   "He tinkered with old radios as a hobby"

1. A person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts
   "The garage was full of half-finished projects belonging to the enthusiastic tinker";
   - tinkerer
    
2. Formerly a person (traditionally a Gypsy) who travelled from place to place mending pots and kettles and other metal utensils as a way to earn a living
   "The tinker's arrival in the village was always met with excitement by those with items needing repair"
    
3. Small mackerel found nearly worldwide
   "Schools of tinkers followed the coastal currents";
   - chub mackerel, Scomber japonicus

Derived forms: tinkered, tinkering, tinkers

Type of: bushel [US], doctor [informal], experimenter, fix, gipsy, gypsy, itinerant, mackerel, mend, repair, work

Part of: genus Scomber, Scomber

Encyclopedia: Tinker, Tailor