1
as in cheese
that which is of low quality or worth
couldn't believe that such junk was chosen to be read for the book club my car is junk—it spends more time in the shop than on the road
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in garbage
discarded or useless material
junk on the side of the road waiting for the trash collection
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to dump
to get rid of as useless or unwanted
we'll have to junk this old car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in worthless
having no usefulness
that broken watch you're wearing is junky
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheap
of low quality
a junky coat that is sure to fall apart after one winter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of junk
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025
Other hot zones to hone in on: your junk drawer, your coffee-mug collection, and toy bins in your kid’s room.
—Petra Guglielmetti, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2025
Steve Forbes, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The ratings agency Fitch restored Delta’s investment-grade credit rating this July after cutting it to junk during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2024
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
But the film is a total mess, start to finish: a mishmash of It and some military-thriller, monster-movie clichés culminating in a junky special-effects ending that barely makes sense.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for junk
Noun
When our castaways were cruising on the hotel junk rig in the season premiere, internecine feuding felt inevitable.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025
Other hot zones to hone in on: your junk drawer, your coffee-mug collection, and toy bins in your kid’s room.
—Petra Guglielmetti, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
This episode of What’s Ahead makes the case for junking the tax code and replacing it with a simple, single-rate system: the flat tax.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The ratings agency Fitch restored Delta’s investment-grade credit rating this July after cutting it to junk during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Master The Art Of Crafting Strong Prompts Strong prompts separate junky AI outputs from the innovative use of AI tools.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
But the film is a total mess, start to finish: a mishmash of It and some military-thriller, monster-movie clichés culminating in a junky special-effects ending that barely makes sense.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for junk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for junk
Noun
-
Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and cook 5 minutes longer until cheese has melted and rice is tender.—
Elizabeth Nelson,
Southern Living,
27 Apr. 2025
-
At Santa Ana’s new Le Hut Dinette, the latest project from San Juan Capistrano’s Heritage Barbecue, seven-day pastrami slides into gooey melty sandwiches and brisket goes into piles of chili cheese fries.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Unlike a regular old garbage bag, these are leakproof and durable (and thus much harder for a squirrel to rip into, if given the chance).—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Four 20-pound bags of hamburger buns and sandwich breads got hit with Stop Sales, sending 80 pounds of bread into the garbage.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Last week brought a frenzied trading session in the bond markets as investors dumped bonds overnight—sending the 30-year Treasury yield briefly above 5 percent.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Atmospheric rivers out West also tend to dump their heaviest rain over the open water in the Pacific, because the storms they’re associated with typically peak in strength there.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN Money,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Removing or reforming colleges with chronically poor outcomes means fewer borrowers entering repayment with no degree or worthless credentials.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Settlers who actually traveled to Florida to inspect their purchases were likely to be greeted by muddy parcels of worthless swampland overrun with snakes and mosquitoes, miles away from anything resembling civilization.—
Greg Daugherty,
Smithsonian Magazine,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
China leads the global production of cheap goods made in large volume, such as dishes and cooking gadgets.—
Pablo Robles,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
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With police turning a blind eye, Portland became a honeypot for local and out-of-state addicts to score cheap dope and use it freely.—
Jason Motlagh,
Rolling Stone,
27 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The site was first excavated beginning in 1995, and in 2018, scientists began collecting, analyzing and radiocarbon dating fossils unearthed from El Gigante rubbish piles.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Last year, a dumpster diver in Hudson, New York, stumbled upon an extraordinary find: An 18th-century pen-and-ink sketch by English portraitist George Romney was hidden amid the rubbish.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The lot was activated because of the magnitude of storm debris that had to be removed from the basins.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
-
For those with patience to keep them free of debris and properly chlorinated (or, more realistically, the funds to hire someone), there’s probably just enough time to close on one of these homes before a mid-season heat wave.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
-
The life of a child in the mother's womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
21 Apr. 2025
Video
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"
Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk
Cite this Entry
“Junk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/junk. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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