clunk

[ kluhngk ]

/ klʌŋk /

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See synonyms for: clunk / clunking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object)

to hit hard, especially on the head.

clonk (def. 2).

noun

a hard hit, especially on the head.

Informal. a stupid person; clunkhead.

clonk (def. 1).

Informal. clunker (def. 2)

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of clunk

1790–1800; imitative; cf. clink¹, clank

Words nearby clunk

clump, clumsiness, clumsy, clung, Cluniac, clunk, clunker, clunkhead, clunky, Cluny, Cluny lace

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use clunk in a sentence

I feed it coins and watch the spring coil back,the clunk of a vacuum-packed, foil-wrappeddream dropping into the tray.
Five poems about the mind|Cynthia Miller, Paula Bohince, Anthony Anaxagorou, Tishani Doshi, Zeina Hashem Beck|August 25, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Embellishments were large and cumbersome—so much so that the dresses seemed to clink and clunk as the models walked the runway.
Milan’s Day-Glo Exuberance|Robin Givhan|September 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
As to the word clunk, it is in use throughout Cornwall in the sense of "to swallow," and is undoubtedly Celtic.
Notes and Queries, Number 218, December 31, 1853|Various
It had in it the jingle of saber chains, the creak of sweaty saddle-girths, the nimble clunk of hurrying hoofs.
Back Home|Irvin S. Cobb

But three minutes later he had dropped down to earth with a heavy clunk.
Dead Giveaway|Gordon Randall Garrett
And immediately afterward the clungk, clunk—clungk, clunk of mighty hoofs coming down the passage toward us.
Carnacki, The Ghost Finder|William Hope Hodgson
And suddenly the clungk, clunk—clungk, clunk recommenced and passed onward down the passage.
Carnacki, The Ghost Finder|William Hope Hodgson

British Dictionary definitions for clunk

clunk

/ (klʌŋk) /

noun

a blow or the sound of a blow

a dull metallic sound

a dull or stupid person

mainly Scot

the gurgling sound of a liquid
the sound of a cork being removed from a bottle

verb

to make or cause to make such a sound

Word Origin for clunk

C19: of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

clunk

Origin of clunk

Words nearby clunk

Words related to clunk

How to use clunk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clunk

Word Origin for clunk