janky

American  

[jang-kee] / ˈdʒæŋ ki /

adjective

Slang.

1. inferior in quality.

   a low-budget janky recording.

2. not working or operating properly: the game's janky interface.

   a janky old car;

   the game's janky interface.

3. untrustworthy; disreputable.

   He's a good guy but has some weird and janky friends.

4. undesirable; dilapidated or run-down.

   He's from the janky part of town where there was a shooting the other night.

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Etymology

Origin of janky

First recorded in 1990–95; origin uncertain; perhaps a regional or affected pronunciation of junky ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Gavin Farmer, a computer science teacher in North Carolina, said teachers struggle to monitor kids’ screens, using janky software showing tiny versions of their screens on their laptops to spot off-task behavior—all while teaching.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

"It's incredibly janky but, for me, the jank is the important thing," she says.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025

In an early episode, McCann breaks her phone, and, being the only member of the cast who isn’t rolling in cash, totes her janky laptop to the club so she can send texts.

From Salon • Aug. 2, 2025

Musk has also been developing a janky chatbot on the site, called Grok.

From Slate • May 7, 2024

And then it hit me why he didn’t have that janky door replaced.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds