bunk

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈbəŋk 

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

bunk

2 of 4

verb

bunked; bunking; bunks

intransitive verb

: to occupy a bunk or bed : stay the night

bunked with a friend for the night

transitive verb

: to provide with a bunk or bed

bunk

3 of 4

noun (2)

: bunkum, nonsense

bunk

4 of 4

noun (3)

British

: a hurried departure or escape

—usually used in the phrase do a bunk

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bed
• doss [chiefly British]
• hay [slang]
• kip
• lair [British dialect]
• pad
• rack
• sack

Verb

• accommodate
• bestow
• billet
• bivouac
• board
• camp
• chamber
• domicile
• encamp
• harbor
• house
• lodge
• put up
• quarter
• roof
• room
• shelter
• take in

Noun (2)

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• drool
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Noun (3)

• break
• breakout
• escape
• flight
• getaway
• lam
• rout
• slip

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

Noun

The cramped cells are equipped with tiered metal bunks without mattresses, two basins for washing, and two open toilets. —Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 3 Apr. 2025

Overnight guests bunk in the house’s dedicated guest suite, which features a private entrance. —Kristine Hansen, Architectural Digest, 1 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

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

probably short for bunker

Noun (3)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1758, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1840, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1900, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1870, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bunk

• bunk bed
• bunk off
• do a bunk

Rhymes for bunk

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

Kids Definition

bunk

1 of 3 noun

ˈbəŋk 

1

: bunk bed

2

: a built-in bed (as on a ship)

3

: a sleeping place

bunk

2 of 3 verb

1

: to sleep in a bunk or bed

2

: to provide with a bunk or bed

bunk

3 of 3 noun

: nonsense sense 1

Etymology

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.