dunk

1 of 2

verb

ˈdəŋk 

dunked; dunking; dunks

transitive verb

1

: to dip (something, such as a piece of bread) into a beverage while eating

2

: to dip or submerge temporarily in liquid

3

: to throw (a basketball) into the basket from above the rim see also dunk on

intransitive verb

1

: to submerge oneself in water

2

: to make a dunk shot in basketball

dunk

2 of 2

noun

: the act or action of dunking

especially : dunk shot

Synonyms of dunk

Verb

• dip
• duck

Examples of dunk in a Sentence

Verb

I like to dunk my doughnut in my coffee.

She dunked him while they were swimming.

He dunked the ladle into the soup.

He could dunk when he was 16.

Noun

The pass led to a dunk.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Warren got Josh Lowe and Vaughn Grissom on flyouts and was one strike away from escaping the jam when Peraza dunked an 0-2 curve into left-center for the win. —ABC News, 2 May 2026

Rioux dunks without jumping, a feat highlighted by his first college field goal against Saint Francis in December 2025 and a memorable March Madness moment in 2026 with an offensive rebound and put-back dunk. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

Noun

Wembanyama looked like Wemby with seven blocks and a number of comical dunks. —Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Randle added a steal and fast-break dunk to put the Wolves up by four after three quarters. —CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Pennsylvania German dunke, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn — more at tinge

First Known Use

Verb

1926, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1932, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dunk

• dunk on
• dunk shot
• slam dunk

Rhymes for dunk

• bunk
• chunk
• clunk
• drunk
• hunk
• junk
• punk
• shrunk
• slunk
• spunk
• sunk
• trunk

Kids Definition

dunk

verb

ˈdəŋk

1

: to dip (as a doughnut) into liquid (as coffee)

2

: to plunge oneself into water