dank

adjective

ˈdaŋk 

: unpleasantly moist or wet

a dank basement

dankly adverb

dankness noun

Synonyms of dank

• damp
• moist

Choose the Right Synonym for dank

wet, damp, dank, moist, humid mean covered or more or less soaked with liquid.

wet usually implies saturation but may suggest a covering of a surface with water or something (such as paint) not yet dry.

slipped on the wet pavement

damp implies a slight or moderate absorption and often connotes an unpleasant degree of moisture.

clothes will mildew if stored in a damp place

dank implies a more distinctly disagreeable or unwholesome dampness.

a prisoner in a cold, dank cell

moist applies to what is slightly damp or not felt as dry.

treat the injury with moist heat

humid applies to the presence of much water vapor in the air.

a hot, humid climate

Examples of dank in a Sentence

vegetables tended to go bad quickly in the dank cellar

Recent Examples on the Web

But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners. —Air Mail, 2 May 2026

Coffee makers can get very dank and moldy. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026

To watch his dank, brooding studies in social collapse, most of them filmed in long, loping black-and-white takes, is to embark on an oddly luxuriant descent into Purgatory. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2026

The iconic saguaros, those many-armed desert sentinels, haunt my dreams, as do local dishes redolent with mesquite smoke complemented by the dank smokiness of agave spirits like mezcal and bacanora. —Von Diaz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English danke

First Known Use

1573, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dank

• banc
• bank
• blank
• clank
• crank
• drank
• flank
• franc
• hank
• lank
• plank
• prank

Kids Definition

dank

adjective

ˈdaŋk 

: unpleasantly moist or wet

dankly adverb

dankness noun