dunk

[duhngk]

verb (used with object)

1. to dip (a doughnut, cake, etc.) into coffee, milk, or the like, before eating.

2. to submerge in a liquid.

   She dunked the curtains in the dye.

3. Basketball.,  to attempt to thrust (a ball) through the basket using a dunk shot.

verb (used without object)

1. 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.

2. Basketball.,  to execute or attempt a dunk shot.

noun

1. any flavorful sauce, dip, gravy, etc., into which portions of food are dipped before eating.

2. Basketball.,  dunk shot.

dunk

/ dʌŋk /

verb

1. to dip (bread, etc) in tea, soup, etc, before eating

2. to submerge or be submerged in liquid

Other Word Forms

• dunkable adjective
• dunker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunk¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunk¹

C20: from Pennsylvania Dutch, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn; see _duck ², _tinge

Example Sentences

Then the fun began — dunks, shot attempts from well beyond NBA three-point range and fans begging for autographs from teenagers at a public school.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Paul brought “Lob City” to L.A., throwing alley-oop passes to star forward Blake Griffin, who soared through the air to dunk them down.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He finished with 25 points, including nine dunks.

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Xavier Booker stepped in front of his man, rising to block a dunk.

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Double-teamed at the top of the key, James dropped a bounce pass to Jaxson Hayes, who soared for an open dunk.

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Related Words

• douse 
• soak 

When To Use

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.