dunk

1 of 2

verb

ˈdəŋk 

dunked; dunking; dunks

transitive verb

1

: to dip (something, such as a piece of bread) into a beverage while eating

2

: to dip or submerge temporarily in liquid

3

: to throw (a basketball) into the basket from above the rim see also dunk on

intransitive verb

1

: to submerge oneself in water

2

: to make a dunk shot in basketball

dunk

2 of 2

noun

: the act or action of dunking

especially : dunk shot

Synonyms of dunk

Verb

• dip
• duck

Examples of dunk in a Sentence

Verb

I like to dunk my doughnut in my coffee.

She dunked him while they were swimming.

He dunked the ladle into the soup.

He could dunk when he was 16.

Noun

The pass led to a dunk.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Og Anunoby dunks over Victor Wembanyama during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 10, 2026. —Sean Gregory, Time, 14 June 2026

The Knicks center dunked through him, screamed in his direction and shifted the game’s energy. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 6 June 2026

Noun

One last comeback The Spurs started the fourth quarter by rebuilding their lead – a huge dunk by Wembanayama extended the lead to a nine-point margin with 10 minutes to go. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 14 June 2026

Castle’s putback dunk cut the deficit to two with 16 seconds left, but Mikal Bridges split a pair on the other end to give the Spurs the ball with eight seconds left, trailing by three. —Dan Zaksheske, FOXNews.com, 14 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Pennsylvania German dunke, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn — more at tinge

First Known Use

Verb

1926, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1932, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dunk

• dunk on
• dunk shot
• slam dunk

Rhymes for dunk

• bunk
• chunk
• clunk
• drunk
• hunk
• junk
• punk
• shrunk
• slunk
• spunk
• sunk
• trunk

Kids Definition

dunk

verb

ˈdəŋk

1

: to dip (as a doughnut) into liquid (as coffee)

2

: to plunge oneself into water