funk

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈfəŋk 

: a strong offensive smell

funk

2 of 4

verb

funked; funking; funks

intransitive verb

: to become frightened and shrink back

transitive verb

1

: to be afraid of : dread

2

: to shrink from undertaking or facing

funk

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

a

: a state of paralyzing fear

b

: a depressed state of mind

2

: one that funks : coward

3

: slump sense 1

an economic funk

the team went into a funk

funk

4 of 4

noun (3)

1

: music that combines elements of rhythm and blues and soul music and that is characterized by a percussive vocal style, static harmonies, and a strong bass line with heavy downbeats

2

: the quality or state of being funky

jeans … have lost much of their funk

—Tom Wolfe

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• reek
• stench
• stink

Noun (2)

• chicken
• coward
• craven
• cur
• dastard
• poltroon
• recreant
• sissy

Examples of funk in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the overpowering funk of rotten meat emanated from the garbage bin

Noun (2)

he may be a strong, athletic guy, but he's a real funk when it comes to donating blood

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each burst out of their respective scoring funks with two-goal efforts, and Frank Vatrano also tallied. —Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 24 Jan. 2025

And there’s always more rising DIY stars on the horizon, ranging from rock to funk to pop to neo-soul. —Spin Contributor, SPIN, 20 Dec. 2024

Noun

The sausage, with just the right amount of funk, was a terrific counterpoint to the eel — surf and turf at its best — with the egg yolk bringing everything together and a few slices of red chile to heat things up. —Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2025

The album’s a masterpiece of circulatory funk that works your body but whose indignant resignation and few hopeful embers also break your heart. —Wesley Morris, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

probably ultimately from French dialect (Picard) funquer to give off smoke

Noun (2)

perhaps from obsolete Dutch dialect (Flanders) fonck

Noun (3)

back-formation from funky entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1606, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1746, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1743, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (3)

1970, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing funk

• funk hole

Rhymes for funk

• bunk
• chunk
• clunk
• drunk
• dunk
• hunk
• junk
• punk
• shrunk
• slunk
• spunk
• sunk

Kids Definition

funk

1 of 4 noun

ˈfəŋk 

: a strong bad smell

funk

2 of 4 verb

1

: to be or become frightened of

2

: to shrink back from in fear

funk

3 of 4 noun

1

a

: great fear

b

: a depressed state of mind

2

: coward

3

: slump entry 2

the team went into a funk

funk

4 of 4 noun

: music that combines forms of blues, gospel, or soul music and has a strong backbeat

Biographical Definition

Funk 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈfu̇ŋk  ˈfəŋk 

Casimir 1884–1967 American (Polish-born) biochemist

Funk

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

ˈfəŋk 

Isaac Kauffman 1839–1912 American editor and publisher