Definition of spunk
1a : a woody tinder : punkb : any of various fungi used to make tinder
3 : spirit, liveliness
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Examples of spunk in a Sentence
That little girl has a lot of spunk.
had the spunk to overcome a severe physical disability
Recent Examples of spunk from the Web
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The horn section of the Dap-Kings adds a layer of soulful spunk to the tune, which marks a new direction for Kesha.
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The house, with its views of the water, its furniture covered in white, and the round tables for dining that seated 10, felt like the set of a Katharine Hepburn movie, one in which the heroine shows verbal spunk and athletic poise in equal measure.
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Harman has a lot of spunk, though, and that victory got him high enough into the world ranking to secure a spot in the U.S. Open.
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Young M.J. jogs to the back of the line with some spunk.
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By the end, the audience is hungry — not just for food, but for the stories engagingly told with spunk by Gaffney and Johnson.
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The house felt like a Katharine Hepburn movie, the heroine showing verbal spunk and athletic poise in equal measure.
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Sydel is the baby of the three Curry kids, with her father’s eyes and her mother’s spunk.
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Ms. Foster’s ability to combine vulnerability and spunk is precisely what the title role requires.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spunk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of spunk
Scottish Gaelic spong sponge, tinder, from Middle Irish spongc, from Latin spongia sponge
spunk
Definition of spunk
dialect
intransitive verb
: to show spirit —usually used with up
First Known Use of spunk
1840
SPUNK Defined for English Language Learners
spunk
playDefinition of spunk for English Language Learners
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: spirit, courage, and determination
SPUNK Defined for Kids
History for spunk
The English word spunk comes from spong, a word in Scottish Gaelic (the traditional language of northern Scotland) that meant “tinder” or “sponge.” This word, in turn, came from Latin spongia, “sponge.” The English word at first meant “tinder,” which is a spongy material that catches fire easily. Since the human spirit can also be thought of as catching fire, spunk came to mean “spirit.”
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See words that rhyme with spunk Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for spunk Spanish Central: Translation of spunk
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