plunk

[ pluhngk ]
See synonyms for plunk on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to pluck (a stringed instrument or its strings); twang: to plunk a guitar.

  2. to throw, push, put, drop, etc., heavily or suddenly; plump (often followed by down): Plunk down your money. She plunked herself down on the seat.

  1. to push, shove, toss, etc. (sometimes followed by in, over, etc.): to plunk the ball over the net; to plunk a pencil into a drawer.

verb (used without object)
  1. to give forth a twanging sound.

  2. to drop heavily or suddenly; plump (often followed by down): to plunk down somewhere and take a nap.

noun
  1. act or sound of plunking.

  2. Informal. a direct, forcible blow.

  1. Slang. a dollar.

adverb
  1. Informal. with a plunking sound.

  2. Informal. squarely; exactly: The tennis ball landed plunk in the middle of the net.

Origin of plunk

1
First recorded in 1760–70; expressive word akin to pluck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use plunk in a sentence

  • From somewhere about the house came the nasal singing of a mountaineer to the plunking of a tuneless banjo.

    The Portal of Dreams | Charles Neville Buck
  • He kept plunking away and altogether put seven holes in my machine.

    Flying for France | James R. McConnell

British Dictionary definitions for plunk

plunk

/ (plʌŋk) /


verb
  1. to pluck (the strings) of (a banjo, harp, etc) or (of such an instrument) to give forth a sound when plucked

  2. (often foll by down) to drop or be dropped, esp heavily or suddenly

noun
  1. the act or sound of plunking

  2. informal a hard blow

interjection
  1. an exclamation imitative of the sound of something plunking

adverb
  1. informal exactly; squarely: plunk into his lap

Origin of plunk

1
C20: imitative

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