junk

¹ American  

[juhngk] / dʒʌŋk /

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.

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verb (used with object)

junks, present (3rd person singular) junked, past participle, past junking present participle

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

adjective

1. cheap, worthless, unwanted, or trashy.

junk ² American  

[juhngk] / dʒʌŋk /

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.

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junk ³ American  

[juhngk] / dʒʌŋk /

noun

Slang.

1. narcotics, especially heroin.

2. the external genitals.

   I kicked him in the junk.

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junk ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

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

junk ² British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• junking
  present
• junked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• junk
  simple
• junks
  simple
• have junked
  perfect
• has junked
  perfect
• am junking
  progressive
• are junking
  progressive
• is junking
  progressive
• have been junking
  perfect progressive
• has been junking
  perfect progressive

Past

• junked
  simple
• had junked
  perfect
• was junking
  progressive
• were junking
  progressive
• had been junking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will junk
  simple
• will have junked
  perfect
• will be junking
  progressive
• will have been junking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

Junk is trash, debris, or garbage — it's something that's left behind or thrown away because it's not wanted. You might view the broken toaster as junk, while your sister sees it as an interesting repair project. After an accident, your car might be junk, and if it's hauled off to a scrapyard, you can say you had to junk it, using the verb meaning "to throw it away." One person's junk, however, is another person's valuable metal that can be sold to recycling companies. A completely different, non-trashy kind of junk is a Chinese sailing ship. These uses are connected through the nautical origin of junk, originally spelled junke and meaning "old rope or cable."

Example Sentences

“I have gone places where people think I’m driving junk on wheels,” Dennis, 25, said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

Private credit is the new kid in the high-yield sector and its boosters had been highlighting the better performance relative to plain corporate junk bonds in recent years.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government was taking "decisive action" on obesity, including new restrictions on junk food advertising and targets on healthy food sales.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

While their subplot is a worthy ding at today’s avalanche of junk, heaven help us if “Toy Story 6” co-stars an out-of-date cellphone.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

“Probably ’cause there’s so much junk back there,” Oliver says before stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

Related Words

• clutter
• debris
• rubbish
• rubble
• trash