as in to hit
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
an overhead branch suddenly fell and bonked him on the head
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bonk
Watch the baby birds bonking at the video at the top of the story.
—
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
That would mean, ideally, that no one would get bonked on the head.
—Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2026
That depletes your carb stores prematurely, leaving you unable to accelerate and more likely to bonk.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 5 Mar. 2026
Their fight is to be continued next week, and whether or not another member of the deck team gets bonked on the head remains to be determined.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bonk
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
That would mean, ideally, that no one would get bonked on the head.
—Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2026
That depletes your carb stores prematurely, leaving you unable to accelerate and more likely to bonk.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 5 Mar. 2026
Their fight is to be continued next week, and whether or not another member of the deck team gets bonked on the head remains to be determined.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bonk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bonk
Verb
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The Rockies’ Kyle Karros hit an opposite-field line drive that carried to the right-field warning track, but Lee tracked down the potential extra-base hit on the run, then crashed into the chain-link portion of the fence.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
30 May 2026
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The hitting coaches have been really emphasizing it.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
Verb
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The shot smacked off the front of the rim.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
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Ben Williamson then smacked a ball to the right side that went off the glove of first baseman Spencer Torkelson, allowing Mullins and Fortes to score.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna called a third strike, but Madrigal argued with the umpire, emphatically slapping his head.—
Liana Handler,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
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Rojas slapped a single up the middle to put the Royals ahead.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
Verb
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After knocking England out of the 2018 World Cup, for example, Croatia’s players were keen to throw that line back in their face afterwards.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
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Remember, as little as 6 inches of moving water can knock you off your feet.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 June 2026
Verb
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The small, but spirited, Peruvian fan group in the north stands banged its drums and waved flags, finally able to be part of the party.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
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Cars pushed through the crowd, hitting at least one person as agitators continued banging, kicking and blocking government vehicles.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
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Among those arrested was a woman who allegedly punched a police officer.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
9 June 2026
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In extreme cases, like intentionally punching another player, a referee can go straight to a red card and eject a player from the match.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Verb
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The wacky misplay happened during the top of the fourth inning on June 2, when Rockies third baseman TJ Rumfield whacked a deep fly to right field, which then grazed off the left side of Adell’s glove and off the top of his head.—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
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Larry Hayes, 86, and Bill Moniz, 79, hit the tennis courts in Mountain View three to four times a week — whacking balls across the net as teammates for one to three hours a week.—
Panashe Matemba-Mutasa,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
Verb
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The crowd clapped and cheered as Crump commented on the Friday assault, which was captured on doorbell camera, at a press conference Tuesday morning at the church.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
2 June 2026
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Founders of Avatech’s mentee companies, seated in front of their laptops, clapped and banged their hands on tables to the distinctive stomp-stomp-clap beat of the song as an electric guitar wailed.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bonk. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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