junk

¹ American  

[juhngk] / dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags.

   Synonyms:

   refuse, debris, litter, rubbish

2. anything that is regarded as worthless, meaningless, or contemptible; trash.

   Synonyms:

   refuse, debris, litter, rubbish

3. old cable or cordage used when untwisted for making gaskets, swabs, oakum, etc.

4. Nautical Slang. salt junk.

5. Baseball Slang. relatively slow, unorthodox pitches that are deceptive to the batter in movement or pace, as knuckleballs or forkballs.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cast aside as junk; discard as no longer of use; scrap.

adjective

1. cheap, worthless, unwanted, or trashy.

junk ² American  

[juhngk] / dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. a seagoing ship with a traditional Chinese design and used primarily in Chinese waters, having square sails spread by battens, a high stern, and usually a flat bottom.

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junk ³ American  

[juhngk] / dʒʌŋk /

noun

Slang.

1. narcotics, especially heroin.

2. the external genitals.

   I kicked him in the junk.

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junk ¹ British  

/ dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. discarded or secondhand objects, etc, collectively

2. informal

   1. rubbish generally

   2. nonsense

      the play was absolute junk

3. slang any narcotic drug, esp heroin

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verb

1. informal (tr) to discard as junk; scrap

junk ² British  

/ dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. a sailing vessel used in Chinese waters and characterized by a very high poop, flat bottom, and square sails supported by battens

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Etymology

Origin of junk¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jonk, junk “(in sailing) old rope or cable”; further origin uncertain

Origin of junk²

First recorded in 1545–55; from Portuguese junco, from Malay jong “large boat, ship,” possibly from dialectal Chinese (Xiamen) chûn; compare Guangdong (Cantonese) dialect syùhn, (Mandarin) Chinese chuán

Origin of junk³

First recorded in 1920–25; perhaps special use of junk ¹

Explanation

Junk is trash, debris, or garbage — it's something that's left behind or thrown away because it's not wanted. You might view the broken toaster as junk, while your sister sees it as an interesting repair project. After an accident, your car might be junk, and if it's hauled off to a scrapyard, you can say you had to junk it, using the verb meaning "to throw it away." One person's junk, however, is another person's valuable metal that can be sold to recycling companies. A completely different, non-trashy kind of junk is a Chinese sailing ship. These uses are connected through the nautical origin of junk, originally spelled junke and meaning "old rope or cable."

Example Sentences

That’s so important now, with AI and all the junk coming down the pipeline.”

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

Blaenau Gwent council is looking at how it can support healthier lives in Wales' most obese area, with a ban on junk food advertising proposed.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Two of the most actively traded indexes bundle up credit-default swaps of companies with investment-grade and junk credit ratings, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

So yields are higher but investors aren’t taking as much risk as they would with debt that would be considered deep junk.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

Not wanting to embarrass Mr. Flux when the gift was an obvious piece of junk, he accepted the offer, grabbed the camera by its strap.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Related Words

• clutter
• debris
• rubbish
• rubble
• trash