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

Leslie was determined to be the first player in the WNBA to dunk, which helped redefine what was possible in women’s basketball. — Jordan Puente, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

Love, born Darlene Wright in 1941, shuttled between Los Angeles and Texas and spent her first 15 years in church, dunked in gospel as much as Aretha or Ray Charles were. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026

Noun

McClung was nearby, listening to Justin Bieber and thinking through his first dunk. — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

This makes the AirPods 5 (and the charging case) mostly protected from dirt and waterproof enough to handle a quick dunk in shallow water. — Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 17 Sep. 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