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• funk
  funk

  noun

  cowering fear; state of great fright or terror.
• Funk
  Funk

  noun

  Casimir 1884–1967, U.S. biochemist, born in Poland: discovered thiamine, the first vitamin isolated.

funk

¹ American  

[fuhngk] / fʌŋk /

noun

1. cowering fear; state of great fright or terror.

2. a dejected mood.

   He's been in a funk ever since she walked out on him.

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verb (used with object)

funks, present (3rd person singular) funked, past participle, past funking present participle

1. British. to shrink from; try to shirk.

   We can only say that the government has funked its responsibility.

verb (used without object)

funks, present (3rd person singular) funked, past participle, past funking present participle

1. British. to shrink or quail in fear.

   He funked at nothing, and could lick every boy in the neighborhood.

funk ² American  

[fuhngk] / fʌŋk /

noun

1. Jazz. music having a funky quality.

   Let's set aside our music exercises for now and get down to some real funk.

2. a strong, earthy smell; stench.

   That is some serious funk coming from the compost pile.

3. the state or quality of being funky.

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Funk ³ American  

[foongk, fuhngk] / fʊŋk, fʌŋk /

noun

1. Casimir 1884–1967, U.S. biochemist, born in Poland: discovered thiamine, the first vitamin isolated.

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funk ¹ British  

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. slang a strong foul odour

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funk ² British  

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. Also called: blue funk.  a state of nervousness, fear, or depression (esp in the phrase in a funk )

2. a coward

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verb

1. to flinch from (responsibility) through fear

2. (tr; usually passive) to make afraid

funk ³ British  

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. informal a type of polyrhythmic Black dance music with heavy syncopation

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Funk ⁴ British  

/ fʌŋk /

noun

1. Casimir (ˈkæzɪˌmɪə). 1884–1967, US biochemist, born in Poland: studied and named vitamins

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Funk Scientific  

/ fŭngk,fo̅o̅ngk /

1. Polish-born American biochemist who is credited with the discovery of vitamins. In 1912 he postulated the existence of four organic bases he called vitamines which were necessary for normal health and the prevention of deficiency diseases. He also contributed to the knowledge of the hormones of the pituitary gland and the sex glands.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• funker
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• funking
  present
• funked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• funk
  simple
• funks
  simple
• have funked
  perfect
• has funked
  perfect
• am funking
  progressive
• are funking
  progressive
• is funking
  progressive
• have been funking
  perfect progressive
• has been funking
  perfect progressive

Past

• funked
  simple
• had funked
  perfect
• was funking
  progressive
• were funking
  progressive
• had been funking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will funk
  simple
• will have funked
  perfect
• will be funking
  progressive
• will have been funking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of funk¹

First recorded in 1735–45; originally Oxford University slang; perhaps from early Dutch dialect (in de) fonck “in difficulties;” further origin unknown

Origin of funk²

First recorded in 1615–25; perhaps from North French dialect funquier, funquer “give off smoke,” Old North French fungier, from Vulgar Latin fūmicāre, alteration of Latin fūmigāre fumigate

Explanation

If you're in a funk, it means that you've been feeling sad. You might be in a serious funk after your best friend moves across the country. One way to use funk is to mean "blues" or "depression." Everyone's in a funk sometimes — for some people, the shorter, darker winter days automatically put them in a bit of a funk. Funk also refers to a bluesy kind of music with a strong underlying bass rhythm. It comes from funky, which means "stinky" or "musty smelling," from the French funkière, "smoke." In African American music, funky became a compliment, a description of soulful, earthy music — like funk itself.

Example Sentences

"We were trying to form a new type of music which used influences from reggae and punk rock and funk and whatever," Panter said.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026

They might help shares break out of their recent funk.

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

The music wasn’t influenced by soul, funk or even disco.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026

But this one, her sixth, dances us through her evolution and many revolutions, serving up everything from jazz to funk to Chicago house on the dance track “Right Here Right Now.”

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026

But I don’t see any backup coming from my fellow servers, each of whom has slipped into her own personal funk; Gail, my role model, stares sorrowfully at a point six inches from her nose.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich