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 of spunk

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

Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings issued an emotional plea on Instagram for their mom's return, citing her spunk, her loving personality and her vulnerability. —Helen Rummel, AZCentral.com, 4 Feb. 2026

Animal-print chairs maintain a bit of spunk in the now bright, airy rooms, as do ornate dark wood bedside tables. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2026

Spinach salad gets spunk from feta and roasted peppers. —Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025

Each design also has its own energy and spunk! —Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025

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.