Definitions Related words Phrases Mentions Lyrics History Colors (New!) Easter eggs (New!)

Literary notes about clink (AI summary)

The word "clink" functions as a vivid piece of auditory imagery in literature, evoking metallic sounds that both set a scene and deepen the narrative’s atmosphere. Authors employ it to capture the sharp, resonant echo of metal—whether it is the subtle chink of chains that hints at imprisonment and foreboding [1] or the delicate music of glasses in a convivial gathering that underscores momentary joy or solemnity [2, 3]. In other contexts, the clink marks the punctuated cadence of movement, such as the rhythmic sound of horse’s hooves on cobblestones that adds suspense or mystery to a scene [4, 5]. Even in lighter moments, the onomatopoeic quality of "clink" intensifies the sensory experience, merging the literal and the symbolic to enrich the narrative texture [6, 7].
  1. Yes, once there was one, for a moment: a file of native convicts passed along in charge of an officer, and we caught the soft clink of their chains.
    — from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain
  2. He sat, gazing downward, and gradually thought he heard the old voices and the clink of glasses.
    — from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser
  3. There I have had to sit alone with him, to clink glasses and drink with him, and to listen to his ribald, silly talk.
    — from Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
  4. That is ‘The Cedars,’ and beside that lamp sits a woman whose anxious ears have already, I have little doubt, caught the clink of our horse’s feet.”
    — from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  5. Somewhere on the upper high road horses were trotting, and the metallic clink of their hoofs sounded in the night stillness.
    — from A Slav Soul, and Other Stories by A. I. (Aleksandr Ivanovich) Kuprin
  6. But the forge was a very short distance off, and I went towards it under the sweet green limes, listening for the clink of Joe's hammer.
    — from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  7. Then Joe began to hammer and clink, hammer and clink, and we all looked on.
    — from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

More usage examples

Also see: Google, News, Images, Wikipedia, Reddit, BlueSky


Home   Reverse Dictionary / Thesaurus   Datamuse   Word games   Spruce   Feedback   Dark mode   Random word   Help


Color thesaurus

Use OneLook to find colors for words and words for colors

See an example

Literary notes

Use OneLook to learn how words are used by great writers

See an example

Word games

Try our innovative vocabulary games

Play Now

Read the latest OneLook newsletter issue: Compound Your Joy