dunk

verb

\ ˈdəŋk

dunked; dunking; dunks

Definition of dunk

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

intransitive verb

1 : to submerge oneself in water

2 : to make a dunk shot in basketball

dunk

noun

Definition of dunk (Entry 2 of 2)

: the act or action of dunking especially : dunk shot

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about dunk

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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

Belibi dunked a one-handed alley-oop on the break off an assist from sophomore Avery Vansickle. — Doug Feinberg, The Seattle Times, "Tennessee loses three in a row for first time in 33 years," 14 Jan. 2019 After seeing what happened to me in 2009, Eric Strabel dunked his entire body in the river shortly before his race. — Holly Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, "It’s gonna be a hot Mount Marathon, so racers be warned and spectators stand by — preferably with ice," 3 July 2018 Antetokounmpo was angry that night with Knicks forward Mario Hezonja, who had dunked over him in the first quarter, then stared and stepped over him. — Brian Mahoney, The Seattle Times, "Antetokounmpo powers Bucks past Knicks in Christmas debut," 26 Dec. 2018 This is a movie in which the de-rigueur baptism scene is of the preacher himself being dunked to sober up. — Author: Ann Hornaday, Anchorage Daily News, "Is ‘Damsel’ the first Western for the #MeToo generation?," 28 June 2018 Simons sprinted to the hoop, the big passed the ball and Simons elevated and dunked. — Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Edgewater High alum Anfernee Simons enjoys solid NBA debut," 7 July 2018 Here's the proof: top 5 Dennis Smith Jr. dunks this season. — Peter Dawson, star-telegram, "Dallas rookie Dennis Smith Jr. favored in slam dunk contest | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 Feb. 2018 Even a sandwich made from cold ingredients straight from the fridge dunked in hot gravy can be tasty. — Stephanie Wu, Town & Country, "How to: Thanksgiving Leftover Tips from Culinary Stars," 16 Nov. 2015 Three-year-old An Biên specializes in Haiphong-style seafood, like thick bánh da noodles in a rich crab-and-pork broth, or plump mantis shrimp to dunk in a bubbling hot pot. — Peter Jon Lindberg, Condé Nast Traveler, "Hanoi, Time and Again," 20 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

With less than 2 minutes remaining, and the Grizzlies leading, 72-70, Pistons power forward Henry Ellenson appeared to have an easy dunk to tie the game. — Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Jaren Jackson Jr.'s weary Sunday caps fabulous NBA Summer League week," 9 July 2018 The high-energy guy in Game 1 was JaVale McGee, who scored a couple of times but also had a wide-open dunk blocked by the rim. — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "It was a grim scene inside the Cavs’ locker room after Game 1 loss to Warriors," 1 June 2018 When Bleacher Report posted a photo on Instagram about Wade wanting LeBron to sign a photo of their iconic pass and dunk in Miami, Chalmers chimed in on the comment section and took credit for the play. — Andrew Joseph, For The Win, "Mario Chalmers got busted after taking credit for iconic Wade-LeBron play," 22 May 2018 The game opened with George Hill having two dunks for the Cavs in the first three minutes. — Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers sweeping victory reason to be excited -- Terry Pluto (photos)," 7 May 2018 Insider: Why a graduate transfer makes sense for Archie Miller, IU basketball His top highlight of the night was a dunk in the second half that rattled the rim. — Dakota Crawford, Indianapolis Star, "Romeo Langford gets McDonald's All American Game viewers fired up with highlight plays," 28 Mar. 2018 There was still 2:41 left in the first quarter when Poly sophomore forward Justin Lewis had a rim-rattling dunk in the No. 4 Engineers’ Class 3A state semifinal against Stephen Decatur on Thursday night. — Glenn Graham, baltimoresun.com, "Record-setting Mims leads No. 4 Poly past Stephen Decatur, 63-46, and into 3A state title game," 9 Mar. 2018 At the center of it all was Wooten, who matched a career-high in blocks, had several highlight-worthy dunks and jumped completely over Payton Pritchard at one point pursuing another block. — Tyson Alger, OregonLive.com, "Kenny Wooten and Troy Brown spark dramatic turnaround in Oregon's win over Washington," 8 Feb. 2018 McDaniels flashed across the baseline, collected Watson’s pass and hammered home a dunk in the 85-49 final at Viejas Arena. — Bryce Miller, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Aztecs season has chance to be defined by unflappable freshman McDaniels," 9 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dunk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.