conk

¹ American  

[kongk, kawngk] / kɒŋk, kɔŋk /

verb (used with object)

1. to hit or strike on the head.

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noun

1. a blow on the head.

2. the head.

3. British. the nose.

conk ² American  

[kongk, kawngk] / kɒŋk, kɔŋk /

verb (used without object)

Slang.

1. to break or fail, as a machine or engine (often followed byout ).

   The engine conked out halfway there.

2. to slow down or stop; lose energy (often followed byout ).

3. to go to sleep (usually followed by off orout ).

4. to lose consciousness; faint (usually followed byout ).

5. to die (usually followed byout ).

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conk ³ American  

[kongk, kawngk] / kɒŋk, kɔŋk /

noun

Mycology.

1. the shelflike fruiting body of certain wood-decaying fungi; bracket fungus

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conk ⁴ American  

[kongk, kawngk] / kɒŋk, kɔŋk /

noun

1. a method of chemically straightening the hair.

2. a hairstyle in which the hair has been chemically straightened and sometimes set into waves.

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verb (used with object)

1. to straighten (kinky hair) by the use of chemicals.

   to have one's hair conked.

conk British  

/ kɒŋk /

verb

1. to strike (someone) a blow, esp on the head or nose

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noun

1. a punch or blow, esp on the head or nose

2. the head or (esp Brit and NZ) the nose

Other Word Forms

• conky adjective

Etymology

Origin of conk¹

First recorded in 1805–15; of obscure origin

Origin of conk²

First recorded in 1915–20; perhaps imitative of the sound

Origin of conk³

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; of obscure origin

Origin of conk⁴

First recorded in 1940–45; probably shortening and alteration of congolene, alleged to be the name of a hair straightener made from Congo copal

Example Sentences

It was already late, and it managed just four laps on its first day in Barcelona before conking out at the entrance to the pit lane.

From BBC

"Having to go out in the dark every time the generator conked out."

From BBC

The food van that conked out at Del Rosario’s house was from Revolution Foods, one of the vendors in the city’s delivery program.

From Los Angeles Times

But my pacemaker battery was running low, and what if it conked out in the middle of an extraction?

From Los Angeles Times

The stairs abruptly ended in a solid wall of ice, a wall he plowed right into, smacking his head against it with a loud conk.

From Literature