as in dirt
foul matter that mars the purity or cleanliness of something
I have to wash my hands; I got gunk all over them somehow
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gunk
Fresh off a surprise cosign from Aespa member Giselle, zayok is one of the leaders of an amorphous digital scene that includes gunk and sydney runner, whose music iterates on carbine-y wonkiness to form a new kind of balladry halfway between SoundCloud IDM, rap, and voice memo.
—
Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
The Columbia Venturetrot Boot is made out of vulcanized rubber (hardened by heat and sulfur) for durability, and mud and gunk just slide right off of it.
—Lisa Jhung, Outside, 11 Mar. 2026
For a meditation on human frailty, look no further than Clare Barron, a playwright deeply fond of bruises and bleeding, scabs and gunk.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2026
Once the gunk loosens, simply wipe the interior clean with a cloth.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gunk
Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
The Columbia Venturetrot Boot is made out of vulcanized rubber (hardened by heat and sulfur) for durability, and mud and gunk just slide right off of it.
—Lisa Jhung, Outside, 11 Mar. 2026
For a meditation on human frailty, look no further than Clare Barron, a playwright deeply fond of bruises and bleeding, scabs and gunk.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2026
Once the gunk loosens, simply wipe the interior clean with a cloth.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunk
Noun
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The pile of rock, dirt and low-quality coal began slowly burning two decades ago, according to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS).—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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By blending emotionally powerful country sonics with red-dirt sound, Bowlin evokes the energy of names such as Jason Isbell, Zach Bryan and the early work of BJ Barham and American Aquarium.—
Chris Barilla,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This was scooping muck from the reaches of his lungs.—
Courtney Crowder,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
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Cormorants that tried to clean each other with their beaks died after ingesting the viscous muck.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Paul trained his project with 25,000 pictures of soil and connected it with an autonomous irrigation system that decides how much water the garden should receive.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
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Then, about 20,000 years ago the Laurentide continental glacier moved into the area, pushing rocks, soil, and other debris, eventually damming Pine Creek and forming an expansive lake.—
Anthony Fredericks,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Crumbled sidewalks were replaced by planks that covered the sludge that concealed the ancient wood fretwork that buried the bones of the metropolis and its people.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
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The second is a 100-day sludge line that will poison the reserves oil-hungry nations are racing to drain.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In April 2024, the first time Xcel used preemptive power outages to reduce wildfire risks, city employees had to scramble to ensure raw sewage didn’t flow into Boulder Creek when power was cut to the plant’s two electric substations.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Repair any leaks, especially from sewage pipes.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That includes self emptying debris into a washable bin that should hold up to a month's worth of crud, cleaning its own mop pad with hot water and drying it with hot air, and self-refilling with clean water from a tank inside its dock.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 Mar. 2026
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That crud jams up the works of your coffee maker, slows brewing down, and impacts the taste of your morning brew.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Knowing what not to put down a garbage disposable can help preserve your appliance and your peace of mind.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
12 Apr. 2026
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The lack of fuel has worsened the country’s other longtime problems, from pumping water, picking up garbage to producing food, among others.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gunk. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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