as in dirt
foul matter that mars the purity or cleanliness of something
I have to wash my hands; I got gunk all over them somehow
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gunk
How does Ishmael, in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, carry me through his pages-long descriptions of the weird gunk inside a sperm whale’s head?
—
Vauhini Vara, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Plenty of people will happily hop into the gunk with them.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
For a deeper clean — especially to remove hairspray or other gunk — mix two parts baking soda with four parts water to form a paste.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
This step is important to remove all gunk and stuck-on food before moving on to conditioning and shining the surface, according to Stein.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gunk
Vauhini Vara, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Plenty of people will happily hop into the gunk with them.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
For a deeper clean — especially to remove hairspray or other gunk — mix two parts baking soda with four parts water to form a paste.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
This step is important to remove all gunk and stuck-on food before moving on to conditioning and shining the surface, according to Stein.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunk
Noun
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The best deal on the list belongs to this small but mighty handheld vacuum cleaner that can snatch up pet fur, dust, dirt, and more debris from furniture in a flash.—
Clara McMahon,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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Fall and winter are perfect seasons for kicking up some red dirt.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But the mandates also help colleges shovel heaps of bureaucratic muck—validating data for accreditation, carrying out enrollment, flagging troubled students, aggregating metrics of all kinds.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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Since the April 2022 closing of the $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, investors have been dragged into the muck.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Chestnut trees hold soil, resist erosion, and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.—
Todd Plummer,
Vogue,
11 Nov. 2025
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Plant the bulbs in rich, well-draining, slightly acidic soil in a garden space that gets full sun.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The swimming pool was covered with leaves and sludge and algae.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
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This movie oozes style — and actual undead sludge, occasionally — along with Cody’s signature sense of humor.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Tijuana River, which crosses from Mexico into California before emptying into the Pacific Ocean, carries not only water but also trash and millions of gallons of untreated sewage.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
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How have the odors from sewage flows affected your daily life and health?—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Two sheets of metal make this ski feel planted and reliable in crud and on firm snow, while the wood core adds just enough energy to keep it lively without feeling twitchy.—
Marina Knight,
Outside,
17 Oct. 2025
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Both trap and transport crud from airport terminals and hotel lobbies, city streets and parking lots.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The burger was never refrigerated and spent most of its life in cupboards, garbage bags and sheds.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Beijing — When Ho Puay-peng first visited Beijing’s Forbidden City in the late 1980s, the Singaporean architect saw many of the historic courtyards used for storage, filled with garbage, and occupied by danwei (government offices).—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gunk. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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