clinker

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a hard, stony lump of fused ash left after coal or other fuel has burned

   Grey clinker broke away from the heat-scorched surface in brittle flakes.

2. 2
   noun

   hard nodules produced by heating limestone and clay, later ground to make cement

   The rotating kiln turns the raw mixture into cement clinker.

3. 3
   noun

   an unusually hard, partly vitrified brick

   Dark clinker bricks gave the old factory wall an irregular texture.

4. 4
   verb

   to form clinker while burning, or to remove clinker from a furnace

   Poor airflow caused the coal to clinker inside the furnace.

Appears in

Borrowed from Dutch clinker or klinker, from klinken, 'to ring.' The name probably refers to the ringing sound of a hard, well-fired brick or fused lump when struck; industrial uses later spread to furnace residue and cement nodules.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary