junk

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈjəŋk 

1

a(1)

: old iron, glass, paper, or other waste that may be used again in some form

(2)

: secondhand, worn, or discarded articles

(3)

: clutter sense 1b

b

: something of poor quality : trash

c

: something of little meaning, worth, or significance

2

: pieces of old cable or cordage used especially to make gaskets, mats, swabs, or oakum

3

slang : narcotics

especially : heroin

4

: junk bond

5

: baseball pitches that break or are off-speed (such as curveballs or changeups)

6

slang : male genitalia

junk

2 of 3

verb

junked; junking; junks

transitive verb

: to get rid of as worthless : scrap

junk

3 of 3

noun (2)

: any of various ships of Chinese waters with bluff lines, a high poop and overhanging stem, little or no keel, high pole masts, and a deep rudder

Illustration of junk

• ³junk

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• cheese
• crapola [slang]
• dreck
• drek
• muck
• rubbish
• sleaze
• slop
• slush
• trash
• tripe

Verb

• cashier
• cast (off)
• chuck
• deep-six
• discard
• ditch
• dump
• eighty-six
• 86
• exorcise
• exorcize
• fling (off or away)
• jettison
• lay by
• lose
• pitch
• reject
• scrap
• shed
• shuck (off)
• slough (off)
• sluff (off)
• throw away
• throw out
• toss
• unload

Choose the Right Synonym for junk

discard, cast, shed, slough, scrap, junk mean to get rid of.

discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

discard old clothes

cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

cast off her friends

shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.

shed a bad habit

finally sloughed off the depression

scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

scrap all the old ways

would junk our educational system

Examples of junk in a Sentence

Noun (1)

couldn't believe that such junk was chosen to be read for the book club

my car is junk—it spends more time in the shop than on the road

junk on the side of the road waiting for the trash collection

Verb

We decided to junk our old computer and buy a new one.

we'll have to junk this old car

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The local hockey team made every move this season to win a Stanley Cup, from junking its goalies to shipping out a star to overhauling the entire middle of the ice. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2025

The biggest sleight of hand in the film belongs to production designer Julian Wagner, who scoured the internet to buy as much gear as possible that was used in and around 1972, no small task because such equipment was junked decades ago. —Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2024

Noun

As a result of these reentries, however, the amount of space junk burning up in the upper layers of the atmosphere is increasing, which worries some atmospheric scientists. —Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Apr. 2025

What about that wily junk dealer, or the creepy cemetery? —Kevin Purdy, ArsTechnica, 5 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English jonke

Noun (2)

Portuguese junco, from Javanese joṅ

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1911, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1555, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing junk

• a piece of junk
• junk art
• junk bond
• junk DNA
• junk email
• junk food
• junk mail
• junk sculpture

Rhymes for junk

• bunk
• chunk
• clunk
• drunk
• dunk
• hunk
• punk
• shrunk
• slunk
• spunk
• sunk
• trunk

Video

Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

Kids Definition

junk

1 of 3 noun

ˈjəŋk 

1

: articles discarded as worthless

2

: something of poor quality : trash

3

slang : narcotic entry 1 sense 1

especially : heroin

junky

ˈjəŋ-kē 

adjective

junk

2 of 3 verb

: to get rid of as worthless : scrap

junk

3 of 3 noun

: a ship of eastern Asia with a high stern and four-cornered sails

Etymology

Noun

Middle English jonke "piece of old or worn-out rope"

Noun

from Portuguese junco "a Chinese ship"