tonk
Americannoun
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of tonk
1920–25; compare British, Australian tonk (informal) to strike, beat, defeat
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.
A honky tonk atmosphere meets the queer community when the KFM Country Karaoke Revue gets going at Permanent Records Roadhouse in Glassell Park.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025
“And I’m still living that honky tonk dream, y’all.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2022
Yet he also warned of “commercialism” that could mar the area’s beauty and expressed hope that there would be “no honky tonk growth.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2021
Georgetown’s favorite chili shack has already resumed Thursday’s “honky tonk happy hour” with Billy Joe Huels, but things start to heat up with accordion king Curley Taylor and his bluesy zydeco combo.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 24, 2021
Me and King learned how to play spades and tonk when we were real young.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
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.
