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

Dadeville High School went 2-13 his senior year, according to Lupoi and that has some relation to Jennings ability to dunk.

— matt zenitz, AL.com, "Live updates, video from Nick Saban press conference," 16 Aug. 2017
Morning glory, bright green inside crispy shells of tempura flour, is meant to be dunked in a sauce that’s almost a curry unto itself, heavy with squid, shrimp and ground pork.

— ligaya mishan, New York Times, "Thai Dishes, Beloved and Rare, at Playground in Woodside, Queens," 27 July 2017
Properly calibrated to avoid poisoning the cells, those protectants could help ensure that an egg would evenly vitrify (becoming glasslike) when it was dunked into a liquid nitrogen bath.

— jacob brogan, Smithsonian, "A Cool New Way to Freeze and Unfreeze Zebrafish Embryos Using Gold Nanotechnology and Lasers," 13 July 2017
Replays showed that Trimble’s teammate, Alex Poythress came in to try to dunk in the follow, but got his hands away from the rim.

— don markus, baltimoresun.com, "Melo Trimble's reverse layup goes down as a dunk — to a summer league teammate," 13 July 2017
Miguel Sano then dunked a blooper into no-man’s land near the rightfield line as Bryce Harper, first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and second baseman Daniel Murphy—his Nationals teammates!—converged.

— jay jaffe, SI.com, "Robinson Cano's home run propels American League to fifth straight All-Star Game victory," 12 July 2017
And these vessels were just begging to be dunked in their soy-forward sauce.

— andrew marton, star-telegram.com, "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.. https://t.co/cMvt5RYiSQ Ellis and Mosher gave Ball the opportunity to respond.

— jonathan tannenwald, Philly.com, "LaVar Ball takes shots at Sixers' Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Jerry Colangelo in radio interview," 29 June 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! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1919

See Words from the same year

dunk Synonyms

Synonyms

douse (also dowse), duck, dip, immerse, souse, sop, submerge, submerse

Related Words

bathe, moisten, soak, steep, wet; drench, drown, flood; dive, plunge, thrust

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

In Washington, the concern is about whether the government can push through tax cuts and other pro-business policies that were considered slam dunks early this year.

— stan choe, The Seattle Times, "US stock indexes hit a wall following two-day rally," 23 Aug. 2017
Deliciousness aside, chicories are alsoa win visually—an Instagram-age slam dunk.

— amiel stanek, Bon Appetit, "Chicory Is the 2017 Vegetable of the Year," 22 Aug. 2017
There will also be a dunk tank, sand art and an inflatable obstacle.

— madeline galassi, Daily Southtown, "Homewood celebrates Giant Block Party Aug. 19," 11 Aug. 2017
For quick cooling, especially if your mix is coming off the stove, dunk it in a large bowl of ice water after straining.

— Popular Mechanics, "How to Make Ice Cream," 4 Aug. 2017
Video editing cut out the first dunk attempt, the one that ended in Cody howling foul, holding his head and demanding his bounty.

— stephen schroats, star-telegram, "UT Arlington basketball coach is a slam dunk in latest internet craze," 26 July 2017
Last month, Thompson visited China and tried to pull off a 360 dunk in an attempt to show off his new Anta sneakers.

— chris chavez, SI.com, "Watch: Steph Curry Makes Fun of Klay Thompson With Failed Dunk in China," 24 July 2017
Food, bounce houses, dunk tank, games, face painting, family competitions and more.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "Best events for kids this weekend: Free museum day, fun fests," 19 July 2017
This deal was supposed to be a slam dunk, to shamelessly use a metaphor from a different sport.

— erin griffith, Fortune, "5 Things to Know About the Failed FanDuel-DraftKings Merger," 14 July 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