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

Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin dunks in the first half. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2025

Case in point: Edwards has dunked just 14 times in 34 games this season after throwing it down nearly once per contest last year. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 7 Jan. 2025

Noun

The Kings are 6-1 since Christie took over, losing only his first game in the role, and 3-0 while Fox has nursed a bruise in his right glute after a hard fall on a dunk attempt against the Memphis Grizzlies. —Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 11 Jan. 2025

Then Porziņģis snuck behind the Nuggets defense for a putback dunk that put his team ahead. —Jay King, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025

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