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

She was known among her neighbors for her generosity and spunk — and among her relatives for stubborn refusal to leave Bellevue Square, her home of 54 years, The Courant reported in 1997. —Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 30 Apr. 2026

Grossmont showed some spunk, rallying for three runs in the bottom of the inning. —Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026

Still, the Marty Supreme star and Best Actor nominee brought the same spunk and confidence to the red carpet that his on-screen counterpart brought to the ping-pong table. —Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes.com, 15 Mar. 2026

But by the time of his individual short program Tuesday night, Malinin's fearless swagger and unrivaled spunk was back. —CBS News, 13 Feb. 2026

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.