Meaning & use
rink
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Meanings
nouncountable
A smooth, flat area of ice, indoor or outdoor, used for skating, hockey or curling.
Grammar: Countable: an ice rink; the local rink is open daily.
Patterns
- skate on a rink
- a rink in somewhere
The town opens an outdoor rink every December.
She spent every Saturday morning at the rink.
The hockey team practices at the rink after school.
nouncountable
A hard, smooth floor or building where people roller-skate.
Grammar: Usually written roller rink: we went to the roller rink.
Patterns
- a roller rink
The old roller rink still plays disco music.
He learned to skate backwards at the rink.
They rented a rink for the birthday party.
nouncountableBritish
In bowls or curling, a lane of play, or the team of players who use it.
Grammar: Mainly British; in curling it can mean one lane, in bowls a team of four.
Patterns
- a rink of four
Our rink won the club tournament on Sunday.
Each rink on the green is about five meters wide.
He skips the rink in the Wednesday league.
Word forms
| plural | rinks |
|---|
Common combinations
- ice rink
- The ice rink was crowded with families.
- skating rink
- A skating rink opens in the park each winter.
- hockey rink
- They built a hockey rink in the backyard.
- roller rink
- Her first date was at a roller rink.
- rink side
- Parents watched from the rink side.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- ice rink noun
- a surface of ice for skating
- roller rink noun
- a floor for roller skating
- rinkside adjective
- next to the rink
- skate verb
- to glide on a rink
Commonly confused: rink or ring?
rink vs ring
A ring is a circle, such as a boxing ring or a ring on a finger. A rink is a flat surface for skating.
Practice
We spent the afternoon skating at the local ____.
Choose one answer.
A rink is a place for skating. Ring and rank are different words, and rink-top is not a standard noun here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rink”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.