spunk

1 of 2

noun

ˈspəŋk 

1

a

: a woody tinder : punk

b

: any of various fungi used to make tinder

2

: mettle, pluck

3

: spirit, liveliness

spunk

2 of 2

verb

spunked; spunking; spunks

intransitive verb

dialect

: to show spirit

—usually used with up

Synonyms

Noun

• courage
• grit
• fortitude
• bravery
• stamina
• courageousness
• guts
• determination

Examples of spunk in a Sentence

Noun

That little girl has a lot of spunk.

had the spunk to overcome a severe physical disability

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His band, which included former San Diego guitarist Jose Rios, played with spunk and well-calibrated precision whether delivering uptempo funk and hip-hop numbers, tender R&B love songs or slinky reggae grooves. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025

Owing to her Western spunk, talent for deduction, ability to identify a tobacco scent Holmes cannot and the detective’s need for a sidekick, she’s made his assistant. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025

Verb

The Wild already had spunk, but Deslauriers has crafted a nice brand in the pest-nuisance-and-hitting market. —Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Mar. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Scottish Gaelic spong sponge, tinder, from Middle Irish spongc, from Latin spongia sponge

First Known Use

Noun

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1840, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for spunk

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

Kids Definition

spunk

noun

ˈspəŋk

1

: courage, pluck

2

: spirit entry 1 sense 4

Etymology

Noun

from earlier spunk "tinder," from Scottish Gaelic spong "sponge, tinder," from Latin spongia "sponge"

Word Origin

Spunk now means "spirit, readiness to fight against odds, courage." It is somewhat surprising to learn that it comes from a Latin word for something that seems quite the opposite: "sponge." The Latin word for "sponge," spongia, came into Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language of the Scottish Highlands, as spong and meant "sponge." But it also came to mean "tinder," the light, dry material used to start a fire. Tinder was often dry, spongy wood that would ignite easily and looked like sponge. A person who fought courageously and without complaining, especially against strong opponents, was thought of as catching fire. This flaring up of the human spirit was compared to the bursting into flame of tinder. Thus, a person who had this quality was said to have spunk.