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crunk

American  
[kruhngk] / krʌŋk /

noun

  1. a type of hip-hop originating in the southern U.S. and characterized by heavy bass and call-and-response vocals.


adjective

  1. Slang.

    1. excited; full of energy.

    2. drunk and high on drugs.

crunk British  
/ krʌnk /

noun

  1. a form of hip-hop music originating in the southern states of the US

"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

Etymology

Origin of crunk

1990-95; perhaps cr(azy) + (dr)unk


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:

Acts like Bone Crusher and Lil Jon ran the city’s brash crunk sound up the pop charts, hitting No. 26 and No. 2 with “Never Scared” and “Get Low,” respectively.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2023

The exposure helped him become more recognizable, particularly to the BET brass — who he says initially struggled to grasp the concept of his crunk music, which eventually gained mainstream appeal.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2023

Even as she praised her successors, Gangsta Boo asserted her dominance in the Southern rap explosion that spawned crunk and trap music.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023

It introduced audiences everywhere to the raw, thrashing energy that fuelled the crunk subgenre, and stuck out against relatively quaint hits like “Get Low” and “Yeah!,” which only implied the manic energy that “Knuck” embodied.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 4, 2016

Banks calls what he does "rap-influenced pop", describing it as "a formula of grime and crunk, pop, soulful hardcore/jungle and R&B".

From The Guardian ● Feb. 13, 2013

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