conker
noun/ˈkɒŋkə/
Etymology As a term for horse chestnut, derived from the name of the game conkers, which came first. Theories for the original meaning include 19th-century dialect conker (“snail-shell”) (the game of conkers was originally played using snail-shells), from conch + -er, or a variant of conquer.
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UK A horse chestnut, used in the game of conkers.
- His bald spot gleams like a burnished conker.2006, Peter Godwin, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa:
- Unboxing conkers? What on earth are you talking about? Oh wow, you really are out of the loop, aren’t you? Gen Zers are taking to TikTok to film themselves unpeeling conkers from their spiky capsules.2025 October 13, “‘Nature’s Labubu’: why are gen Z ‘unboxing’ conkers?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Derived terms
- conker tree