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  • junker
    junker
    noun
    a car that is old, worn out, or in bad enough repair to be scrapped.
  • Junker
    Junker
    noun
    a member of a class of aristocratic landholders, especially in East Prussia, strongly devoted to militarism and authoritarianism, from among whom the German military forces recruited a large number of its officers.
Synonyms

junker

1 American  
[juhng-ker] / ˈdʒʌŋ kər /

noun

Slang.

  1. a car that is old, worn out, or in bad enough repair to be scrapped.

Junker 2 American  
[yoong-ker] / ˈyʊŋ kər /

noun

  1. a member of a class of aristocratic landholders, especially in East Prussia, strongly devoted to militarism and authoritarianism, from among whom the German military forces recruited a large number of its officers.

  2. a young German, especially Prussian, nobleman.

  3. a German official or military officer who is narrow-minded, haughty, and overbearing.

Junker British  
/ ˈjʊŋkə /

noun

  1. history any of the aristocratic landowners of Prussia who were devoted to maintaining their identity and extensive social and political privileges

  2. an arrogant, narrow-minded, and tyrannical German army officer or official

  3. (formerly) a young German nobleman

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • Junkerdom noun
  • Junkerism noun

Etymology

Origin of junker1

1880–85, for an earlier sense; junk 1 + -er 1

Origin of Junker2

1545–55; < German; Old High German junchērro, equivalent to junc young + hērro Herr

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.

So when a crew of construction workers comes to tow the junker away, the outraged children run home to share their misfortune with their parents, only to be quickly rebuffed.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2023

I said, “Listen, if you have any old junker I could use, I swear I will come back here tomorrow and buy the most expensive bike you have.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 11, 2021

Automobile appraisers tell you what your beat-up old jalopy or junker may or may not be worth in the new series “Sticker Shock.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2018

Melin quit college and was working at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino buffet and driving a junker car to work.

From Washington Times • Apr. 8, 2018

“A few times a year. Next time I go, it’ll be around Christmas. Assuming our junker car is still running by then.”

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

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.