junk

¹

[juhngk]

noun

1. any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags.

   Synonyms: refuse, debris, litter, rubbish

2. anything that is regarded as worthless, meaningless, or contemptible; trash.

   Synonyms: refuse, debris, litter, rubbish

3. old cable or cordage used when untwisted for making gaskets, swabs, oakum, etc.

4. Nautical Slang.,  salt junk.

5. Baseball Slang.,  relatively slow, unorthodox pitches that are deceptive to the batter in movement or pace, as knuckleballs or forkballs.

verb (used with object)

1. to cast aside as junk; discard as no longer of use; scrap.

adjective

1. cheap, worthless, unwanted, or trashy.

junk

²

[juhngk]

noun

1. a seagoing ship with a traditional Chinese design and used primarily in Chinese waters, having square sails spread by battens, a high stern, and usually a flat bottom.

junk

³

[juhngk]

noun

Slang.

1. narcotics, especially heroin.

2. the external genitals.

   I kicked him in the junk.

junk

¹

/ dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. discarded or secondhand objects, etc, collectively

2. informal

   1. rubbish generally

   2. nonsense

      the play was absolute junk

3. slang,  any narcotic drug, esp heroin

verb

1. informal,  (tr) to discard as junk; scrap

junk

²

/ dʒʌŋk /

noun

1. a sailing vessel used in Chinese waters and characterized by a very high poop, flat bottom, and square sails supported by battens

Word History and Origins

Origin of junk¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jonk, junk “(in sailing) old rope or cable”; further origin uncertain

Origin of junk²

First recorded in 1545–55; from Portuguese junco, from Malay jong “large boat, ship,” possibly from dialectal Chinese (Xiamen) chûn; compare Guangdong (Cantonese) dialect syùhn, (Mandarin) Chinese chuán

Origin of junk³

First recorded in 1920–25; perhaps special use of junk ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of junk¹

C15 jonke old useless rope

Origin of junk²

C17: from Portuguese junco, from Javanese jon; related to Dutch jonk

Example Sentences

This was the junk wax era, when Topps and Fleer and all these companies really overproduced because they thought there was big business in baseball cards.

From Los Angeles Times

"Major championships are long, and when you get out here on these blind tee shots with the wind, you're going to have guys hitting it in the junk," said US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.

From BBC

In an effort to counter the worst offenders Cloudflare previously developed a system where the worst miscreants would be sent to a "Labyrinth" of web pages filled with AI generated junk.

From BBC

Plus he has called on states to ban millions of Americans from using food stamps, a welfare benefit, to buy junk food or sugar-sweetened drinks.

From BBC

“This is not an evidence-based report, and for all practical purposes, it should be junked at this point,” Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Assn. told the Washington Post.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clutter 
• debris 
• rubbish 
• rubble 
• trash