junkman

¹ American  

[juhngk-man] / ˈdʒʌŋkˌmæn /

noun

junkmen plural

1. a dealer in resalable used metal, paper, rags, and other junk.

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junkman ² American  

[juhngk-muhn, -man] / ˈdʒʌŋk mən, -ˌmæn /

noun

junkmen plural

1. a member of the crew of a junk.

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junkman British  

/ ˈdʒʌŋkˌmæn /

noun

1. Also called: rag-and-bone man.  a man who buys and sells discarded clothing, furniture, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• junkmen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of junkman¹

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; junk ¹ + man

Origin of junkman²

First recorded in 1860–65; junk ² + man

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

junkman junkmen

So just how good was Ed Asner, this down-to-earth son of a Kansas City junkman who broke free from his parents’ towropes of heavy skepticism by becoming an A-list actor?

From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2021

Then there is Bubby Guest, a Brunswick, Ga., junkman, poor because he is sick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2016

Tom Waits may pay the mortgage as a musician, but he clearly has the heart of a junkman.

From Time ● Oct. 25, 2011

Lindy had a junkman haul my furniture away while I was at work.

From Slate

Nobody knew, so it was sold to a junkman and hauled off to be broken up for scrap metal.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

General Iron Industries operated nearly a century in Lincoln Park, taking the rebar, typewriters, washing machines, cars, scooters and other scrap metal that junkmen had collected from alleys or demolition companies.

From Washington Post

Chicago's Judge Michael Feinberg refused an injunction to restrain the police, told the junkmen they were not employes but independent merchants and not covered by the Wagner Act.

From Time Magazine Archive

So last week junkmen began organizing a co-operative junk yard to ignore both wholesalers and retailers and sell direct to the mills.

From Time Magazine Archive

Renovators were paying junkmen $6.50 for used coil springs, were reselling them to retailers for $15.

From Time Magazine Archive

For nowadays the junkmen, in the cities, at least, are not allowed to ring bells and shout loudly or make much noise.

From Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's by Hope, Laura Lee