1
: an old or badly working piece of machinery
especially
: a dilapidated automobile
2
: someone or something notably unsuccessful
told a joke that was a real clunker
Examples of clunker in a Sentence
My first car was an old clunker that kept breaking down.
That joke was a real clunker.
The director's recent films have all been clunkers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Get the clunker out of the way, see your flaws and roll into the SEC schedule.
—
Seth Emerson, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Not to say there aren’t some clunkers, most notably a jokey take-me-out-to-the-ballgame baseball number that pads the second act, but the Flaherty-Ahrens score was and is Ragtime‘s signature achievement.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
There can be no repeat of their clunkers against the Commanders and the Giants the past two weeks.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 11 Oct. 2025
Sagapolutele experienced his first clunker performance last week after three straight strong outings.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clunker
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Seth Emerson, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Not to say there aren’t some clunkers, most notably a jokey take-me-out-to-the-ballgame baseball number that pads the second act, but the Flaherty-Ahrens score was and is Ragtime‘s signature achievement.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
There can be no repeat of their clunkers against the Commanders and the Giants the past two weeks.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 11 Oct. 2025
Sagapolutele experienced his first clunker performance last week after three straight strong outings.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clunker
Cite this Entry
“Clunker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clunker. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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