plunk

verb

ˈpləŋk 

variants or plonk

ˈpläŋk 

ˈplȯŋk

plunked or plonked; plunking or plonking; plunks or plonks

transitive verb

1

: to pluck or hit so as to produce a quick, hollow, metallic, or harsh sound

2

: to set down suddenly : plump

intransitive verb

1

: to make a plunking sound

2

: to drop abruptly : dive

3

: to come out in favor of someone or something : plump

—used with for

plunk noun

plunker noun

Synonyms

• toss
• plop
• sling
• plump

Examples of plunk in a Sentence

You've been plunking that banjo all afternoon!

She plunked out a little tune on the piano.

plunking away on a guitar

The pitcher plunked the first two batters of the game.

She plunked a mug of coffee on the counter.

Recent Examples on the Web

Fried plunked Brandon Nimmo to begin the sixth with his 98th and final pitch of the afternoon. —Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 6 July 2025

Bird plunked the first batter his faced, Meyers, with a fastball. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 3 July 2025

Two batters later, Buehler plunked Volpe in the left elbow with an 88.8-mph changeup with the bases loaded, giving the Yankees a 7-0 lead. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025

Bello plunked the leadoff batter, Jo Adell, and walked Chris Taylor. —Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 4 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

imitative

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing plunk

• plunk down

Rhymes for plunk

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

Kids Definition

plunk

verb

ˈpləŋk 

variants or plonk

ˈpläŋk 

ˈplȯŋk

1

: to make or cause to make a hollow, metallic, or harsh sound

plunk the strings of a banjo

2

: to drop or set down suddenly

plunk a suitcase on the bench

plunk noun