dank

[dangk]

adjective

danker, dankest 

1. unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly.

   a dank cellar.

   Synonyms: soggy, sticky, muggy, clammy, wet

2. Slang.,  (of marijuana) excellent; high quality.

   There was plenty of booze and dank weed at the party.

3. Slang.,  (of an internet meme) passé or clichéd; out of touch; having missed the cultural Zeitgeist.

noun

1. Slang.,  high-quality marijuana.

   We were just chilling out and smoking dank together.

dank

/ dæŋk /

adjective

1. (esp of cellars, caves, etc) unpleasantly damp and chilly

Other Word Forms

• dankly adverb
• dankness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dank¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English probably from Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish dänka, Norwegian dynke “to moisten,” cognate with Old Norse dǫkk “water hole”

Word History and Origins

Origin of dank¹

C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dank marshy spot

Example Sentences

The bounding wolf flew past her and knocked her flat on her back, with a whoosh of hot wolf breath and dank fur smell.

Read more on Literature

As far as she knew, the wise old founder had never had to flee actors dressed as pirates by crawling through a dank, dark tunnel into the British Museum after hours.

Read more on Literature

Mystified, he wanders the dank halls of their rented palazzo and the fetid alleyways of the “pestilential city” where canal waters slither past like “a fat, grey-green worm.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

More time spent scrolling dank memes and reels on social media or bingeing the “King of the Hill” reboot on Hulu means less time for the latest pick from Oprah’s Book Club.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A dank, earthy odor hung in the air, as if mounds of fresh pencil shavings had been scattered over a newly excavated farm plot.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chilly 
• damp 
• humid 
• muggy 
• steamy 
• sticky 
• wet 

When To Use

What else does dank mean?

When not describing something as "moist" and "humid" like a basement, dank is a slang term describing something as "excellent," especially marijuana.Dank can also refer to memes that are played out or extremely weird.