dunk
Americanverb (used with object)
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dunks,
present (3rd person singular)
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dunked,
past participle, past
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dunking
present participle
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to dip (a doughnut, cake, etc.) into coffee, milk, or the like, before eating.
-
to submerge in a liquid.
She dunked the curtains in the dye.
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Basketball. to attempt to thrust (a ball) through the basket using a dunk shot.
verb (used without object)
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dunks,
present (3rd person singular)
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dunked,
past participle, past
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dunking
present participle
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to dip or submerge something, oneself, etc., in a liquid.
She thinks it's vulgar to dunk. Let's dunk in the pool before dinner.
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Basketball. to execute or attempt a dunk shot.
noun
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dunks
plural
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any flavorful sauce, dip, gravy, etc., into which portions of food are dipped before eating.
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Basketball. dunk shot.
verb
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to dip (bread, etc) in tea, soup, etc, before eating
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to submerge or be submerged in liquid
Usage
What does dunk mean? Dunk means to dip or submerge something in liquid or something like a liquid. More specifically, it can refer to dipping foods into liquids or sauces or dips, like dunking a doughnut into coffee before eating it (but not for so long that it gets too soggy and part of it falls in—it’s a delicate process). In basketball, to dunk is to put the ball directly into the hoop, especially forcefully (this kind of dunking is the opposite of delicate). Such a shot is called a dunk or a slam-dunk or a slam or a jam or a stuff or a throw-down (or even more colorful names, if you’re Darryl Dawkins). Example: I like to dunk my fries into the milkshake—don’t knock it till you try it.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dunksimple
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dunkssimple
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have dunkedperfect
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has dunkedperfect
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am dunkingprogressive
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are dunkingprogressive
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is dunkingprogressive
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have been dunkingperfect progressive
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has been dunkingperfect progressive
Past
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dunkedsimple
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had dunkedperfect
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was dunkingprogressive
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were dunkingprogressive
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had been dunkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dunk
An Americanism first recorded in 1865–70; from Pennsylvania Dutch dunke “to dip, immerse”; compare German tunken, Middle High German dunken, tunken, Old High German thunkōn, dunkōn
Vocabulary lists containing dunk
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:
So the goal isn’t always to maximally dunk on somebody.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
But hitting the $1 trillion goal is far from a slam dunk.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The states’ lawsuit offers coherent concerns about the deal’s impact on the film and cable TV marketplaces, but it doesn’t look like a slam dunk, according to antitrust experts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Thiero delivered a breakaway windmill dunk in the second quarter Friday that brought cheers from the fans, a moment in which the second-year Lakers forward displayed his athleticism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
She’s the type to sweetly agree to a toddler’s request to play them in basketball, only to then cross them up and dunk on them.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
He has a radar for the rim, sixth in the NBA in dunks per game in 2024-25.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Yes, his game is short on poster dunks and rim-rattling highlights, but SGA is the game’s most ruthless superstar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, while impressive, appeared to be a sloppy affair comparable to an All-Star game full of dunks and threes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026
A combined two-dunk score will decide which two of the four players advance to the final round, with combined scores from two more dunks determining a champion.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
Wiress nods and scampers over to the water’s edge, where she dunks the coil in the water.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
"It's so tough playing an individual sport. You can't be subbed out, you just have to be dunked back in the deep end immediately," former British player Naomi Broady said on BBC TV.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
He made 142 3-pointers last season, and he dunked only 91 times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Brownell drained a three on the next possession, and Cofie dunked to cap off the run and give the Trojans their first double-digit lead of the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2025
Unfazed, Matteo dunked his arms into the oil and felt around for the bones.
From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2024
Pefta dunked the bobbing ice cubes with a fat finger.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
And, notably, they eat Cane’s, whether it’s buying entire orders of just Texas toast or dunking their entire hand into a fountain cup of Cane’s Sauce and licking it off their fingers.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
After securing victory with a service winner, Sabalenka celebrated by dunking her head in an ice cooler.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
The Spurs’ Carter Bryant moves the ball between his legs in midair before dunking during the all-star dunk contest on Saturday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026
But the dunking spawned the legend of the "Curse of the Colonel" that said the Tigers would never win another title until the effigy was recovered.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
“Well, start dunking of a way to get in,” he orders Raj.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
