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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

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.

Junker used to play at Santa Margarita. 7-3 Mission Viejo with 1:31 left in third.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2025

Santa Margarita wide receiver Jack Junker entered the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs with two catches in the final two Trinity League games.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2024

“I certainly think a complete ban on bushmeat is unrealistic,” says Junker, adding that previous bans just funneled business underground.

From Scientific American • May 8, 2023

Junker claims that in many African cities, bushmeat is a “delicacy.”

From Scientific American • May 8, 2023

The young king was pale with horror at the fearful tidings he had just heard; but his brother, Junker Christopherson, was burning with wrath and indignation.

From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin

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.