Definition of DUNK

dunk

Plural: dunks

Noun

  • a basketball shot in which the basketball is propelled downward into the basket
  • The act or instance of dunking, particularly in basketball.

Verb

Verb Forms: dunked, dunking, dunks

  • To dip something briefly into liquid.
  • immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate
  • make a dunk shot, in basketball
    • "He dunked the ball"
  • dip into a liquid while eating
    • "She dunked the piece of bread in the sauce"
  • To submerge briefly in a liquid.
  • To set down carelessly.
  • To put the ball directly downward through the hoop while grabbing onto the rim with power.
  • To put down on social media [with on].

Examples

  • He managed to DUNK his last two tiles for a triple-word score, securing the win.
  • I like to dunk my donut in my apple cider.
  • Parents shouldn't just dunk their kids in front of the TV.
  • She gave the biscuit a dunk in her cup of milk.
  • The center spun quickly and dunked the ball with authority.
  • The point guard threaded a pass with pinpoint precision to the power forward for an easy dunk.

Origin / Etymology

From Pennsylvania German dunke, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn (“to dip, submerge, dunk”), from Proto-West Germanic *þunkōn (“to make wet”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *þunkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to moisten, wet”).
Cognate with German tunken (“to dunk”), Latin tingō (“to wet, moisten”), Ancient Greek τέγγω (téngō, “to wet, moisten”). Related to taint, tincture, tint.

Synonyms

dip, douse, dunk shot, plunge, souse, stuff shot

Scrabble Score: 9

dunk: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
dunk: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dunk: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

dunk: valid Words With Friends Word