dunking

American

[duhng-king] / ˈdʌŋ kɪŋ /

noun

the action of plunging or being plunged into water or other liquid.

Learning to canoe cost her several dunkings.

Etymology

Origin of dunking

First recorded in 1915–20; dunk + -ing ¹

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.

He set a hard screen to get Doncic open and then rolled to the basket and took a lob pass from Doncic for a two-handed dunk in the first quarter.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026

In the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Miami's Keshad Johnson won the title with 97.4 points after a windmill dunk in the final round.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

I'm 5'11, I could dunk in high school, and I have nine holes-in-one.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2024

That crackling, charred skin is the highlight, with plenty of stellar sides: some alder-wood-smoked jojo wedges to dunk in lemon aioli or curry ketchup, cardamom-honey-coated squash and grilled sheets of herb-marinated cabbage.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 26, 2024

Maybe you can bring a basketball with you on your first mission and make the first slam dunk in space.”

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023