gunk
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of gunk
An Americanism dating back to 1932; originally a trademark name for a degreasing solvent
Explanation
Gunk is a gloppy, sticky substance, like the gunk you scrape off the soles of your shoes or the gunk at the bottom of a pond. Gunk is an American English slang term that was first used around 1950 to mean "viscous substance." The word comes from a liquid soap made in Massachusetts starting in the 1930s that was also called Gunk. If you buy Gunk today, it's a cleaning product used for car engines (and sold by a company known as GUNK). In general though, gunk is a great word for anything messy, slimy, or grimy.
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.
To deal with any remaining sticky or dried-on gunk, I do a simple two-pass wipe-down.
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: Clear out the gunk in your AirPods with this high-quality cleaning set.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
She chases a tip down a dark alley leading to a spotless lab where her numbered locker yields tubes of white gunk, syringes of green miracle formula and some easy-to-read instructions.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2024
To investigate the impact on indoor air quality, scientists study the gunk that builds up with laboratory models of surfaces.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 14, 2024
Fortunately, none of the gunk stuck to her, but still her skin tingled with revulsion.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
