dunked; dunking; dunks
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
Synonyms
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
Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2024
Bring the breakfast dish into dessert territory by serving the donut holes with a bowl of homemade chocolate sauce for dunking.
—Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Jan. 2024
Next, Bhatt dunks her face into a frigid bowl of ice, while Horan prefers something steamier.
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 25 Dec. 2023
The wrestler's post included a video of himself and his wife, whose real name is Terry Bollea, dunking their heads back into the water while wearing all-white garments.
—Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 21 Dec. 2023
The primary concern with double-dipping revolves around the potential transfer of oral bacteria and saliva from an individual’s mouth back into the communal dip, via some sort of dunking vessel.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 12 Jan. 2024
Clippers center Ivica Zubac dunks in front of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic during the first half Monday.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2024
And, surely, a French patron wouldn’t be caught dead actually dunking that doughnut into their café au lait?
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Dec. 2023
The cat-size dragonfly, the double-decker-bus-size rhino, the capybara that could dunk a basketball?
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Jan. 2024
The ball in his right hand, Miller reared his arm back and slammed a one-handed dunk over Jazz center Walker Kessler.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 27 Jan. 2024
With Anunoby going up for a dunk attempt midway through the second quarter, Jaquez met him at the rim and blocked it to begin a transition sequence that ended with an Adebayo dunk.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2024
His alley-oop dunk off Curry’s feed and dunk off a Green feed put the Warriors up one with 48 seconds remaining.
—Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2024
The Warriors mounted a 12-4 run to take a 133-132 lead on a dunk by Kuminga with 47.1 seconds to play.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2024
And plays like the one in the fourth quarter, a dunk that punctuated another good win, are the key moving forward.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2024
From Reese’s work in the lane to Young’s drives to the bucket to senior small forward Jordan Geronimo’s dunks, the offense flourished when attacking the Fighting Illini on the interior.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2024
Swells grew in the corners as eager spectators walked slowly, with half their attention locked on the 6-foot-9 phenom who’d taken to the court with a high-flying dunk exhibition, finding any bit of space to squeeze into.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2024
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Verb
Falafel is dark as rich soil on the outside, spring green with herbs on the inside; tahini sauce awaits nearby for dunking.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2024
Bring the breakfast dish into dessert territory by serving the donut holes with a bowl of homemade chocolate sauce for dunking.
—Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Jan. 2024
Next, Bhatt dunks her face into a frigid bowl of ice, while Horan prefers something steamier.
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 25 Dec. 2023
The wrestler's post included a video of himself and his wife, whose real name is Terry Bollea, dunking their heads back into the water while wearing all-white garments.
—Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 21 Dec. 2023
The primary concern with double-dipping revolves around the potential transfer of oral bacteria and saliva from an individual’s mouth back into the communal dip, via some sort of dunking vessel.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 12 Jan. 2024
Clippers center Ivica Zubac dunks in front of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic during the first half Monday.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2024
And, surely, a French patron wouldn’t be caught dead actually dunking that doughnut into their café au lait?
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Dec. 2023
The cat-size dragonfly, the double-decker-bus-size rhino, the capybara that could dunk a basketball?
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Noun
In the clip above, the Cyclones player missed the bucket, and K-State didn’t box out, leading to a second-chance dunk for Iowa State.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Jan. 2024
The ball in his right hand, Miller reared his arm back and slammed a one-handed dunk over Jazz center Walker Kessler.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 27 Jan. 2024
With Anunoby going up for a dunk attempt midway through the second quarter, Jaquez met him at the rim and blocked it to begin a transition sequence that ended with an Adebayo dunk.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2024
His alley-oop dunk off Curry’s feed and dunk off a Green feed put the Warriors up one with 48 seconds remaining.
—Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2024
The Warriors mounted a 12-4 run to take a 133-132 lead on a dunk by Kuminga with 47.1 seconds to play.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2024
And plays like the one in the fourth quarter, a dunk that punctuated another good win, are the key moving forward.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2024
From Reese’s work in the lane to Young’s drives to the bucket to senior small forward Jordan Geronimo’s dunks, the offense flourished when attacking the Fighting Illini on the interior.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2024
Swells grew in the corners as eager spectators walked slowly, with half their attention locked on the 6-foot-9 phenom who’d taken to the court with a high-flying dunk exhibition, finding any bit of space to squeeze into.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2024
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dunk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Articles Related to dunk
Dictionary Entries Near dunk
Cite this Entry
“Dunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dunk. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024.
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Kids Definition
dunk
verbˈdəŋk
1
: to dip (as a doughnut) into liquid (as coffee)
2
: to plunge oneself into water
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