Definition of "chink"

What a pity they didn’t stop up the chinks and the crannies though, and thrust in a little lint here and there.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 2, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, page 10

Yet I did not give way, but settled to wait for the dawn, which must, I knew, be now at hand; for then I thought enough light would come through the chinks of the tomb above to show me how to set to work.

1898, J. Meade Falkner, chapter 4, in Moonfleet, London, Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934

Through one cloudless chink, in a black, stormy sky, / Shines out the dewy morning star.

1834–1838 (date written), Thomas Babington Macaulay, “(please specify the page)”, in Lays of Ancient Rome, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], published 1842

The first chink in Arsenal's relaxed afternoon occurred when key midfielder Samir Nasri pulled up with a hamstring injury and was replaced.

2011 January 30, Kevin Darling, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Huddersfield”, in BBC‎

She swallow, set the cup down like she want to break it, and the ice-blocks jump, make a chink sound.

2020, Abi Daré, The Girl With The Louding Voice, Sceptre, page 138

I thought that if all the hills about there were pure chink, and all belonged to me, I would give them if I could just talk to her when I wanted to […]

1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska, published 1987, pages 47–8

to leave his chink to better hands

1727, William Somerville, Occasional Poems, "The Fortune-Hunter"

At the same time, mind, I must have a bit of a frolic occasionally, for that's all the pleasure I has, when I gets a little chink in my becket; and ye know, too, that I don t care much for that stuff, for a dollar goes with me as fur as a gold ounce does with you, when ye put on your grand airs, and shower it about like a nabob.

1855, Henry Augustus Wise, Tales for the Marines, page 121

"I believe I could make a pudding that wasn't plain, if I tried," Alice said. "Why shouldn't we?""No chink," said Oswald, with brief sadness."How much would it cost?" Noël asked, and added that Dora had twopence and H.O. had a French halfpenny.

1904, Edith Nesbit, The New Treasure Seekers, Chapter 2

He chinks his purse

1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the First”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin, London: […] A. Dodd, page 2