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 of dunk

Verb

• dip
• duck

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 Knicks center dunked through him, screamed in his direction and shifted the game’s energy. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 6 June 2026

Gilbert, who might be 5-foot-10 in spikes, leapt at the wall like a 6th-grader trying to dunk a basketball and got enough air underneath him to reach over the top of the fence and turn a two-run homer into an inning-ending catch. —Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 5 June 2026

Noun

That means head-spinning footwork, gravity-defying dunks and balls that may burst into flame. —ABC News, 5 June 2026

Based on wins and losses and his on-field accomplishments, Leach is far from a slam-dunk Hall-of-Fame candidate. —Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 2 June 2026

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

1932, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dunk

• dunk on
• dunk shot
• slam dunk

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