dunk

1 of 2

verb

ˈdəŋk 

dunked; dunking; dunks

transitive verb

1

: to dip (something, such as a piece of bread) into a beverage while eating

2

: to dip or submerge temporarily in liquid

3

: to throw (a basketball) into the basket from above the rim see also dunk on

intransitive verb

1

: to submerge oneself in water

2

: to make a dunk shot in basketball

dunk

2 of 2

noun

: the act or action of dunking

especially : dunk shot

Synonyms

Verb

• dip
• douse
• dowse
• duck
• immerse
• sop
• souse
• submerge
• submerse

Examples of dunk in a Sentence

Verb

I like to dunk my doughnut in my coffee.

She dunked him while they were swimming.

He dunked the ladle into the soup.

He could dunk when he was 16.

Noun

The pass led to a dunk.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Toyota’s ultimate goal is ambitious: to create a humanoid robot that can dunk like Michael Jordan. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 27 Dec. 2024

But doughnut dunking was a big thing for a long while. —Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 19 Dec. 2024

Noun

That September, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry and James Harden shot together at a studio in Los Angeles, while Derrick Rose did his part in Chicago, Kevin Durant shot in New York and LeBron James filmed the dunk that closes the video from Miami. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 24 Dec. 2024

Kyle made two highlight dunks but also committed four turnovers, including a bad outlet pass to a teammate who wasn’t looking. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Pennsylvania German dunke, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn — more at tinge

First Known Use

Verb

1926, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

circa 1944, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dunk

• dunk on
• dunk shot

Kids Definition

dunk

verb

ˈdəŋk

1

: to dip (as a doughnut) into liquid (as coffee)

2

: to plunge oneself into water