sunk

American  

[suhngk] / sʌŋk /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of sink.

---

adjective

1. Informal. beyond help; done for; washed up.

   If they catch you cheating, you're really sunk.

2. Nautical. (of a forecastle or poop) raised less than a full deck above the weather deck of a ship.

sunk British  

/ sʌŋk /

verb

1. a past participle of sink

---

adjective

1. informal with all hopes dashed; ruined

   if the police come while we're opening the safe, we'll be sunk

Other Word Forms

• half-sunk adjective
• unsunk adjective

Etymology

Origin of sunk

First recorded in 1925–30 sunk for def. 2

Compare meaning

How does sunk compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sank vs. sunk

Example Sentences

Amazon has been left in the dust of the artificial-intelligence trade, and its valuation has sunk to a level not seen for 18 years.

From MarketWatch

More than 100 Iranian naval vessels have been severely damaged, destroyed or sunk, including four Soleimani-class warships known as corvettes, more than 30 minelayers and a drone carrier, U.S. officials say.

From The Wall Street Journal

Libyan port officials said initially that the tanker had sunk, but it has been floating, unmanned and dangerous ever since.

From BBC

He’d stalk out into the deepest part of the channel to where logs were sunk.

From Literature

"It might have sunk without a ripple," Deighton later recalled, "but it did very well, because the critics used me as a blunt instrument to beat Ian Fleming over the head."

From BBC

Related Words

• desperate
• forlorn
• helpless
• impossible
• pointless
• sad
• tragic
• useless