dunk

play

verb \ˈdəŋk\

Definition of dunk

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

See dunk defined for English-language learners

See dunk defined for kids

Examples of dunk in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of dunk from the Web

And these vessels were just begging to be dunked in their soy-forward sauce.

— andrew marton, star-telegram, "Skillets Kitchen & Sports Bar gets a handle on healthier food", 5 July 2017
A female duck grabbed the grey wagtail in her beak, dunked it several times beneath the water, then ate it, Petrovan says.

— arden dier, Fox News, "Think ducks are cute? This might change your mind", 3 July 2017
Please dunk on him so hard that his daddy runs on the court to save him.

— dan gelston, The Seattle Times, "It’s time for No. 1 pick Fultz to turn 76ers into winners", 23 June 2017
Washing any green leaves is facilitated by dunking in tepid water.

— margaret lauterbach, idahostatesman, "Plenty of choices when growing basil", 14 June 2017
Durant drove left, right and down the middle, knocked down 3-pointers, dished and dunked.

— Washington Post, "Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry lead Warriors to NBA title", 13 June 2017
An often overlooked piece of the best stretch of the Matta era, Smith was a multi-year starter and streaky scorer who could dunk and defend.

— doug lesmerises, cleveland.com, "The 25 best Ohio State basketball players of the Thad Matta era", 7 June 2017
Durant dominated, dunking six times in the first half and splashing a procession of 3-pointers in the second.

— adam kilgore, chicagotribune.com, "Kevin Durant has been losing to LeBron James his entire career. That might be about to change.", 2 June 2017
The defense had lapsed; all the Jazz needed to do was toss the ball near the rim and let Gobert collect and dunk it.

— robert o'connell, The Atlantic, "The Unpredictable Draymond Green", 31 May 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of dunk

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

NEW!

First Known Use: 1919

See Words from the same year

dunk

noun

Definition of dunk

: the act or action of dunking; especially : dunk shot

See dunk defined for English-language learners

Examples of dunk in a Sentence

The pass led to a dunk.

Recent Examples of dunk from the Web

But can the former Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowler dunk?

— jessica hice, Indianapolis Star, "11 free things to do at the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration", 6 July 2017
Considering the second-year Detroit Pistons power forward didn’t attempt a dunk last season, that would probably be a surprise.

— vince ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Pistons PF Ellenson hopes to show off-season gains in summer league", 29 June 2017
An electric player, Huffman is known for throwing down devastating dunks.

— stephan wiebe, Alaska Dispatch News, "An unlikely journey lands an Anchorage player amid basketball champions", 28 June 2017
Drake hosting the first-ever awards show seemed like a slam dunk.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "From Drake’s Monologue to Draymond’s Knickers, We Watched the NBA Awards So You Didn’t Have To", 27 June 2017
Moments later, the 6-foot Brown grabbed a defensive rebound and led a fast break, feeding Camron Donatlan for a dunk.

— rick armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News, "West Aurora gains standout guard with Traevon Brown transfer from East", 22 June 2017
The 6-foot-3 guard scooped up the ball near halfcourt and finished the sequence with a breakaway dunk.

— lamond pope, Lake County News-Sun, "Guard Branden Ellis jumps at the opportunity to lead at Warren", 21 June 2017
The event consisted of bounce houses, carnival games, a dunk tank, a DJ, and vendors to shop from.

— jamila young, Courant Community, "Strawberry Festival Draws A Crowd", 21 June 2017
Mitchell was an efficient scorer off the dribble, shooting 55.9 percent on 2-pointers and finding his way onto multiple highlight reels with his spectacular dunks.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Donovan Mitchell 2017 NBA Draft scouting report", 20 June 2017

First Known Use of dunk

circa 1944

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

crease, lateral, lax, overthrow, playbook, post, screen, scrum, secondary, ultimate

DUNK Defined for English Language Learners

dunk

play

verb

Definition of dunk for English Language Learners

: to dip (food) quickly into a liquid (such as coffee or milk) while eating
: to push (someone or something) under water or other liquid for a short amount of time
basketball : to jump high in the air and push (the ball) down through the basket