plural lunkheads or lunks
: a stupid or dull-witted person : dolt
"Where I lived, in Central Square, Cambridge, you had the working class and the university life—you'd have to be a lunkhead not to be keenly aware of it," says [Ben] Affleck. Steven Daly
[Bruce] Willis played the lunk who ran a down-and-out detective agency that came to life when model Cybill Shepherd became his partner. Stephen Dubner
In the onscreen romance department, actress Shelley Fabares has seen her share of hunks and lunks. Cynthia Sanz and John Griffiths

Examples of lunkhead in a Sentence

don't let that lunkhead anywhere near your work tools
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
However, her lovable lunkhead of a servant, Kronk (Patrick Warburton), gives the emperor the wrong vial of poison and turns him into a llama. Devin Nealy, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 Their rowdy energy is so willfully disreputable, they must be made by a bunch of know-nothing lunkheads. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of lump + head

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lunkhead was in 1851

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lunkhead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lunkhead. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

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