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

Explanation

If you conk someone, you bang them on the head. You can also conk your own head on a low-hanging light fixture or cabinet door. Conk is an informal way to say "hit" or "bang," especially when it's someone's head bumping into something. You can also conk out, or collapse from exhaustion — and your motorcycle can also conk out, when it breaks down. Originally, conk meant "punch in the nose," from 19th century slang for "nose," conk. Later, the word became World War I military slang, for the sound a stalling plane engine makes when it "conks out."

Example Sentences

Current models say the birds should conk out after three or four days, yet they fly for more than a week.

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2022

It could be the cells in the body reach a critical number of mutations and then conk out.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2022

But 2-year-olds are old enough to get bored and also have too much energy to conk out easily.

From Slate • Jul. 15, 2019

Apple won’t say how many months of use or charge cycles AirPod batteries can withstand, but some owners have reported that they conk out as early as 18 months.

From Washington Post • May 16, 2019

The ironic thing is that I have never heard any woman, white or black, express any admiration for a conk.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey