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dunking

American  
[duhng-king] / ˈdʌŋ kɪŋ /

noun

  1. 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.

I tore through half a bottle in a week—drizzling it over salads, spooning it onto seafood, and, of course, dunking torn-up hunks of crusty French bread.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2025

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

Pickleball may be everywhere, but it’s continuing to mature as a serious sport, and Waters is its Michael Jordan—if Michael Jordan was dunking on Naismith’s peach baskets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

The Lakers had a chance to force overtime, but they couldn’t get the inbound pass to Reaves, with Russell Westbrook getting the steal and dunking in the final seconds.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2025

“Well, start dunking of a way to get in,” he orders Raj.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm