dunk

1 of 2

verb

ˈdəŋk 

dunked; dunking; dunks

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 see also dunk on

intransitive verb

1

: to submerge oneself in water

2

: to make a dunk shot in basketball

dunk

2 of 2

noun

: the act or action of dunking

especially : dunk shot

Synonyms

Verb

• dip
• douse
• dowse
• duck
• immerse
• sop
• souse
• submerge
• submerse

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

The phenom — who last year became the first Frenchwoman to dunk in a game — is ready for her moment stateside. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 16 Apr. 2025

Bob, angry with Leslie for dunking Aaron’s head underwater, walks into frame and slaps her hard on the bottom, prompting Leslie to burst into tears. —Rachel Brodsky, Time, 15 Apr. 2025

Noun

Paired with your choice of sauces for the ultimate dunk. —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025

Los Angeles responded with a 7-0 run to take an 89-80 lead on a dunk by Derrick Jones Jr. The Clippers went up by 10 on two free throws by Leonard. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 12 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Pennsylvania German dunke, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn — more at tinge

First Known Use

Verb

1926, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

circa 1944, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dunk

• dunk on
• dunk shot

Rhymes for dunk

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

Kids Definition

dunk

verb

ˈdəŋk

1

: to dip (as a doughnut) into liquid (as coffee)

2

: to plunge oneself into water