dunk

[duhngk]

verb (used with object)

1. to dip (a doughnut, cake, etc.) into coffee, milk, or the like, before eating.

2. to submerge in a liquid.

   She dunked the curtains in the dye.

3. Basketball.,  to attempt to thrust (a ball) through the basket using a dunk shot.

verb (used without object)

1. to dip or submerge something, oneself, etc., in a liquid.

   She thinks it's vulgar to dunk. Let's dunk in the pool before dinner.

2. Basketball.,  to execute or attempt a dunk shot.

noun

1. any flavorful sauce, dip, gravy, etc., into which portions of food are dipped before eating.

2. Basketball.,  dunk shot.

dunk

/ dʌŋk /

verb

1. to dip (bread, etc) in tea, soup, etc, before eating

2. to submerge or be submerged in liquid

Other Word Forms

• dunkable adjective
• dunker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunk¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1865–70; from Pennsylvania Dutch dunke “to dip, immerse”; compare German tunken, Middle High German dunken, tunken, Old High German thunkōn, dunkōn

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunk¹

C20: from Pennsylvania Dutch, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn; see _duck ², _tinge

Example Sentences

In the modern game, which has become overrun by monstrously tall super-athletes who can swish 3-pointers as easily as they throw down dunks, every franchise is searching far and wide for the next big thing.

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At the start of the weekend, that looked like a slam dunk.

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As a pre-teen, freshly sprung from an orthodontist’s chair, my idea of heaven was a Wendy’s fry — natural-cut, skins freckled along the edges, salt like tiny rhinestones clinging to grease — dunked into a chocolate Frosty.

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He starts each morning by folding his hands in prayer, dunking his face in a sink full of ice water afterward.

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"It feels like a big undertaking but you're just slicing bread, you're dunking it in some eggs, and calling it a day."

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Related Words

• douse 
• soak 

When To Use

What does dunk mean?

Dunk means to dip or submerge something in liquid or something like a liquid.More specifically, it can refer to dipping foods into liquids or sauces or dips, like dunking a doughnut into coffee before eating it (but not for so long that it gets too soggy and part of it falls in—it’s a delicate process).In basketball, to dunk is to put the ball directly into the hoop, especially forcefully (this kind of dunking is the opposite of delicate). Such a shot is called a dunk or a slam-dunk or a slam or a jam or a stuff or a throw-down (or even more colorful names, if you’re Darryl Dawkins).Example: I like to dunk my fries into the milkshake—don’t knock it till you try it.