spunk

noun \ ˈspəŋk \

Updated on: 22 Mar 2018

Definition of spunk

1 a : a woody tinder : punk

b : any of various fungi used to make tinder

2 : mettle, pluck

3 : spirit, liveliness

See spunk defined for English-language learners

See spunk defined for kids

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

There was no Serena bombast, no Azarenka spunk, not even any Sharapova screeching.

— bill dwyre, latimes.com, "Naomi Osaka beats Daria Kasatkina to win BNP Paribas Open title," 18 Mar. 2018
Coaches and teammates loved his spunk and come-at-me demeanor, but that impetuous nature often caused more harm than good.

— nick moyle, San Antonio Express-News, "Young emerges as key rotation player when Texas needs him most," 14 Mar. 2018
Meanwhile, the undersized Mayfield (6-1, 215) gained points with his spunk.

— jarrett bell, USA TODAY, "Quarterbacks show off arms Saturday at NFL scouting combine — for what it's worth," 3 Mar. 2018
Peabody is an eight-year-old Boston Terrier with a lot of spunk.

— susan green, OregonLive.com, "Portland-area pets for adoption Jan. 9 (photos)," 9 Jan. 2018
Gradually, the bichon warmed up and began to show some spunk.

— michael rubinkam, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Snatched by hungry eagle, little dog lives to bark the tale," 4 Jan. 2018
Her letters show some spunk, a lot of wit, and flashes of the talent that would eventually come to secure her place in history.

— jessica stahl, Washington Post, "‘Letters From War’: 1946-2017 – After (full transcript)," 3 Jan. 2018
As a prison guard, Norman Gee has a stride that’s both burdened and buoyant, conveying both a lifetime’s weight of hard work and the spunk required to stay human in spite of it.

— lily janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "Words fail in ‘Lucia Berlin: Stories,’ rare misstep for usually polished company," 19 Feb. 2018
That's just one reason why her second album title is loaded with forthright spunk.

— eve barlow, GQ, "Courtney Barnett Is Gonna Say Whatever She Wants," 15 Feb. 2018

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

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First Known Use: 1582

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spunk Synonyms

spunk

verb

Definition of spunk

intransitive verb

dialect

: to show spirit —usually used with up

First Known Use of spunk

1840

Other Dialect Terms

bespoke, boughten, lave, muchacho, nigh, thunk, toboggan

SPUNK Defined for English Language Learners

spunk

noun

Definition of spunk for English Language Learners

: spirit, courage, and determination

SPUNK Defined for Kids

spunk

noun \ ˈspəŋk \

Definition of spunk for Students

: courage, spirit

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.”