tenpin

noun

ten·​pin ˈten-ˌpin How to pronounce tenpin (audio)
1
: a bottle-shaped bowling pin 15 inches high
2
tenpins plural in form but singular in construction : a bowling game using 10 tenpins and a large ball 27 inches in circumference and allowing each player to bowl 2 balls in each of 10 frames

Examples of tenpin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The familiar rituals of a Wednesday night were playing out at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, with 22 lanes of tenpin and a restaurant serving nachos and wings. Michael Levenson, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2023 Every other lane was available at both Greenmount and Thunderhead, for duckpin and tenpin bowling, since alleys are operating at 50% capacity amid the pandemic, and masks were required unless people were eating or drinking. Pat Stoetzer, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 31 Dec. 2020 Perfect scores of 300 in tenpins are rare, but not that rare. baltimoresun.com, 11 Apr. 2018 But regardless, duckpin bowling, with smaller pins and balls than the more traditional tenpins, was a regional obsession, played by thousands who flocked to their neighborhood lanes at seemingly every free moment. Chris Kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, 2 Aug. 2017 The Weber Cup — the tenpin bowling equivalent of the Ryder Cup — was started in 2000 (the Europeans now dominate the Americans in that one, too). Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tenpin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1807, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tenpin was in 1807

Dictionary Entries Near tenpin

Cite this Entry

“Tenpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenpin. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tenpin

noun
ten·​pin ˈten-ˌpin How to pronounce tenpin (audio)
1
: a large bottle-shaped bowling pin
2
plural : a bowling game using 10 tenpins and a large ball
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