lunkhead

noun

lunk·​head ˈləŋk-ˌhed How to pronounce lunkhead (audio)
variants or lunk
plural lunkheads or lunks
: a stupid or dull-witted person : dolt
"Where I lived, in Central Square, Cambridge, you had the working class and the university life—you'd have to be a lunkhead not to be keenly aware of it," says [Ben] Affleck.Steven Daly
[Bruce] Willis played the lunk who ran a down-and-out detective agency that came to life when model Cybill Shepherd became his partner.Stephen Dubner
In the onscreen romance department, actress Shelley Fabares has seen her share of hunks and lunks.Cynthia Sanz and John Griffiths

Example Sentences

don't let that lunkhead anywhere near your work tools
Recent Examples on the Web The character was not a hothead but a himbo, a Presidential lunkhead. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2022 The walls are booklined: Charlie is no lunkhead but an avid reader. Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2021 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Nov. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Nov. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Nov. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Nov. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Nov. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 2 Nov. 2020 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lunkhead.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of lump + head

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lunkhead was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near lunkhead

Cite this Entry

“Lunkhead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lunkhead. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.

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