conker

[kong-ker, kawng-]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

British Informal.

a horse chestnut.
the hollowed-out shell of a horse chestnut.
conkers, a game in which a child swings a horse chestnut on a string in an attempt to break that of another player.

conker

/ ˈ��ɒŋ��ə /

noun

an informal name for horse chestnut

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Word History and Origins

Origin of conker¹

1840–50; probably originally conquer; compare conquering a game played with snail shells (the name of the game presumably later transferred to the playing pieces)

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"Billy Connolly has worked his conkers off to make it look like he's just thought something up," he says.

From

His victory was plunged into controversy and he was surprised to find himself at the centre of national headlines when the Telegraph reported claims he cheated by swapping his real conker for a metal one.

From

A Telegraph story included claims that the 82-year-old had cheated by swapping his real conker for a metal one and was also a head judge for the tournament.

From

The event saw participants go head-to-head using conkers threaded on to string to try and smash their opponent's nut.

From

Recent storms had blown hundreds of conkers out of the trees, raising concerns that they might rot before the big day.

From

conk conkers

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