junk

¹

[juhngk]

noun

1. any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags.

   Synonyms: refuse, debris, litter, rubbish

2. anything that is regarded as worthless, meaningless, or contemptible; trash.

   Synonyms: refuse, debris, litter, rubbish

3. old cable or cordage used when untwisted for making gaskets, swabs, oakum, etc.

4. Nautical Slang.,  salt junk.

5. Baseball Slang.,  relatively slow, unorthodox pitches that are deceptive to the batter in movement or pace, as knuckleballs or forkballs.

verb (used with object)

1. to cast aside as junk; discard as no longer of use; scrap.

adjective

1. cheap, worthless, unwanted, or trashy.

junk

²

[juhngk]

noun

1. a seagoing ship with a traditional Chinese design and used primarily in Chinese waters, having square sails spread by battens, a high stern, and usually a flat bottom.

junk

³

[juhngk]

noun

Slang.

1. narcotics, especially heroin.

2. the external genitals.

   I kicked him in the junk.

junk

¹

/ dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. discarded or secondhand objects, etc, collectively

2. informal

   1. rubbish generally

   2. nonsense

      the play was absolute junk

3. slang,  any narcotic drug, esp heroin

verb

1. informal,  (tr) to discard as junk; scrap

junk

²

/ dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. a sailing vessel used in Chinese waters and characterized by a very high poop, flat bottom, and square sails supported by battens

Word History and Origins

Origin of junk¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jonk, junk “(in sailing) old rope or cable”; further origin uncertain

Origin of junk²

First recorded in 1545–55; from Portuguese junco, from Malay jong “large boat, ship,” possibly from dialectal Chinese (Xiamen) chûn; compare Guangdong (Cantonese) dialect syùhn, (Mandarin) Chinese chuán

Origin of junk³

First recorded in 1920–25; perhaps special use of junk ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of junk¹

C15 jonke old useless rope

Origin of junk²

C17: from Portuguese junco, from Javanese jon; related to Dutch jonk

Example Sentences

“But there’s this trend of scrapbooking everything — receipts for the day, the coffee cup holder, stickers. They call it ‘junk journaling.’”

From Los Angeles Times

"These are a long-overdue first step, but the government is far away from meeting its manifesto commitment to end junk food advertising to kids."

From BBC

"People in poorer areas are surrounded by junk food advertising, more unhealthy takeaways, and face bigger barriers to buying healthy food," she says.

From BBC

It means junk foods including pizza, chocolate, and cereal will have to be removed from shop entrances and the end of aisles, while sugary drink refills and some buy-one-get-one-free deals will also end.

From BBC

Nat, who is now 18, says he was eating 80% junk, 20% nutritious food and while he might have looked jacked on the outside, on the inside his "gut was a mess".

From BBC

Related Words

• clutter 
• debris 
• rubbish 
• rubble 
• trash