1
a
: bunk bed
b
: a built-in bed (as on a ship) that is often one of a tier of berths
c
: a sleeping place
2
: a feeding trough for farm animals and especially cattle
bunked; bunking; bunks
: to occupy a bunk or bed : stay the night
bunked with a friend for the night
: to provide with a bunk or bed
British
: a hurried departure or escape
—usually used in the phrase do a bunk
Examples of bunk in a Sentence
Noun (1)
crawled into their bunks and went to sleep immediately
Verb
We'll bunk here for the night.
She was able to bunk with friends.
Noun (2)
the idea that the Great Wall of China is visible from the moon is pure bunk
Noun (3)
he waited until everyone was looking the other way, then did a bunk from the room
Recent Examples on the Web
Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2025
Designed to hold 40,000 inmates, including mass murderers and drug traffickers, prisoners are confined in large, windowless cages with minimal furnishings of tiered metal bunks, an open toilet, and a cement basin.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Laura Manske, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
And because no Golden Girls-style comedy wouldn’t be complete without a Sophia, the boys are also bunking with Bunny’s mother Sybil (the late, great Linda Lavin).
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bunk
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Noun
There are 10 king bedrooms, five of which have sleeping lofts, two queen rooms, and one with bunks.
—Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2025
Designed to hold 40,000 inmates, including mass murderers and drug traffickers, prisoners are confined in large, windowless cages with minimal furnishings of tiered metal bunks, an open toilet, and a cement basin.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
On one expedition, for instance, a three-person team bunked on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica for a stunning 274 days, recording the struggles and successes of 20,000 emperor penguins.
—Laura Manske, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
And because no Golden Girls-style comedy wouldn’t be complete without a Sophia, the boys are also bunking with Bunny’s mother Sybil (the late, great Linda Lavin).
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bunk
Cite this Entry
“Bunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bunk. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bunk
2 of 3 verb1
: to sleep in a bunk or bed
2
: to provide with a bunk or bed
bunk
3 of 3 nounEtymology
Noun
probably a shortened form of bunker
Noun
short for bunkum, from Buncombe County, North Carolina
Word Origin
The word bunk is a shortened form of bunkum, which came from the name Buncombe County, North Carolina. Around 1820, the congressman for the district in which this county was located decided to give a very long, boring speech to the Congress. This speech had nothing at all to do with what was under discussion. Still he stubbornly made it, just to please the voters of Buncombe County. The word buncombe and its other spelling bunkum quickly caught on as a name for empty political nonsense. It didn't take long before its use broadened to include any kind of empty or insincere talk or action. In time it was shortened to the more emphatic bunk.
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