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
• duck
• immerse

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

Some pan dulces are rich and decadent, while others are mild and perfect for dunking into coffee or hot chocolate. —Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025

Cincinnati had a solid first drive by simply dinking and dunking Denver before the Broncos' pass rush could get home on Browning, but the Bengals' entire first-half offensive plan Monday night seemed to consist of throwing fade balls on Riley Moss' matchup. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025

Noun

But still, none is a slam-dunk fit, and that leaves the Red Wings in a tough spot. —Max Bultman, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

He’s even caught a few little dunks. —Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 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