bunk

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
a
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)

bunk

4 of 4

noun (3)

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Most top bunk injuries happen to children under 6 years old. Jessica Booth, Parents, 7 Aug. 2024 An initial two-minute pan creeps from a rudimentary metal fan, over notebooks, cartons of crayons, a period toy lorry, an action man on the carpet, a small basket of marbles, a manual arm clock, to Rita, just waking up on her top bed bunk. John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Aug. 2024
Verb
And yes, Soho Rep’s leadership team, as well as the folks at Playwrights Horizons—where the Rep is about to bunk up for at least two years—are genuinely excited about their upcoming partnership. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024 The possibilities for Netanyahu – who once bunked in the childhood bed of Trump’s son-in-law – seemed endless. Mick Krever, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bunk 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of bunk was in 1758

Dictionary Entries Near bunk

Cite this Entry

“Bunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bunk. Accessed 6 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

bunk

1 of 3 noun
1
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
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.

More from Merriam-Webster on bunk

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