clunk
Americannoun
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a blow or the sound of a blow
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a dull metallic sound
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a dull or stupid person
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the gurgling sound of a liquid
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the sound of a cork being removed from a bottle
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verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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clunksimple
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clunkssimple
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have clunkedperfect
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has clunkedperfect
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am clunkingprogressive
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are clunkingprogressive
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is clunkingprogressive
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have been clunkingperfect progressive
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has been clunkingperfect progressive
Past
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clunkedsimple
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had clunkedperfect
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was clunkingprogressive
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were clunkingprogressive
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had been clunkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clunk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Riders and drivers took increasingly elaborate swerves to avoid the wince-inducing jolts of a full-on pothole clunk.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
She never even got to clunk and thud her way through any farmhouses or laboratories like a bewigged bull in a china shop.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
At the other end, Jaquez missed a runner, clunk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2022
I’ve found the gear shifting to be smooth far more often than not, albeit with the very occasional clunk.
From The Verge ● Dec. 8, 2020
There was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
At no point is Desiree’s identity presented in a way that clunks with “very special episode” messaging or talking points.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2025
The fan she does have slowly clunks as it starts, eventually whirring into action.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2024
Over the years, the machine produced clicks, clunks, groans and some Wagnerian-scale mishaps.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2018
But, like a 10-year-old Prius, the state’s strategy is showing its age, gathering problems and, as it clunks along, crying out for a tune-up.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 3, 2016
This time it shifts a little, but then the rope slips through my hands and the trap clunks back on the bottom.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
After the robots noisily clunked down the stairs, the strangeness of the encounter began to fade.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The scene that best defines the story’s idealism happens long before Dunk gets clunked in the head or skewered by a lance.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
The offense further clunked with 5 for 21 from three-point range, one of the makes on a Nembhard heave with 19 seconds left that briefly made the score 68-65.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
The Bengals clunked to a 4-11-1 finish amid the chaos and confusion of the pandemic.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2022
The round metal thing clunked against one of the guard’s shoes and fell over on its side.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Daniels strode briskly to the stand, not looking at Trump, her shoes clunking on the floor.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
It’s nice to see emails clunking into the box with people’s thoughts and concerns, hopes and dreams, wants and fears, wry asides, pessimistic wails, cries from the heart.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2021
However, 40dB of a smooth, consistent hum is very different from 40dB of clunking, rattling or screeching.
From BBC ● May 30, 2021
Foul balls clunking loudly upon landing in the seats.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 24, 2020
Laughing and breathless, she touched the tree just seconds before Jojo did, her lunch bucket clunking against the trunk.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
