clunker
Americannoun
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something worthless or inferior.
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Also klunker an old, worn-out vehicle or machine, especially a car.
noun
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a dilapidated old car or other machine
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something that fails
the novel's last line is a clunker
Etymology
Origin of clunker
Explanation
If you drive a clunker, you've got a very old, decrepit car. Ask anyone and they'll advise you not to take that clunker on a road trip from California to Maine! A clunker hasn't just racked up a lot of miles — it's also visibly dilapidated and may just barely work at all. Leave your car out in the rain for years without tune-ups and oil changes, and it'll eventually become a clunker. You can also use this word for unsuccessful efforts: "I'm not sure about being a comedian after that clunker of a joke I told at dinner." Clunker comes from the clunk sound of a broken machine.
Vocabulary lists containing clunker
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.
For instance, your friend may have just laughed when you offered to replace their old clunker with a new car.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
In a clunker of a season opener, they couldn’t tackle on defense or consistently move the ball on offense behind new quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 31, 2025
Game 3 was a one-sided clunker, but Game 1, Game 2 and Game 4 all went to sudden-death OT —hockey’s equivalent of dangling you over a bridge by your shoelaces while laughing maniacally.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2025
Murray, who had a 3-for-18 clunker in Game 2, tried everything from leaners, fadeaways and spot-up 3-pointers.
From Seattle Times • May 16, 2024
But still, clunker that it was, the four-year-old gaming console in the family room worked.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions 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.
