plunk
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plunk¹
- /plʌŋk/ US, UK, Scotland
Rhymes with -ʌŋk
Where it comes from
Onomatopoeic; the noun is attested earlier than the verb. Noun etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“dollar; large sum of money”) may refer to the sound of a coin hitting a surface. Compare plonk, plink.
As regards verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.4 (“(transitive) to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily”) and etymology 1, verb sense 2.4 (“(intransitive) to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily”), compare French plonquer (Picardy), a variant of plonger (“to plunge”).
noun plunks
- A brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface. They listened and could hear the steady plunk, plunk of an axe somewhere far above them.
- A (heavy) blow or hit.
- A dollar. Den I gives him a five-plunk piece, and he gins me the shange.
- A large sum of money.
adverb
- With a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface.
-
Directly, exactly, precisely.
"Bang!" went a gun behind me. I heard the whistle of shot. Something stung me sharply on the cheek, and I fell forward on my face, giving myself up for lost. […] "Oh, ye will never dee o' a chairge o' guid saft garden peas!" said the daft lassie, scornfully. "Maybe no," retorted I, for my choler was
Similar: plump, accurately, correctly, dead-nuts, definitely, directly, even, for sure, exact, exactly, fully, incisively
interjection
- Often reduplicated: used to represent a brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface. Look at me; is my eye dilated? do you notice a quiver anywhere? Feel my pulse: plunk—plunk—plunk—same as if I were asleep.
verb plunks · plunking · plunked
- To move (something) with a sudden push. The moving galley's bow was plunking them [oars] back through their own oar-holes, and I could hear no end of a shindy in the decks below.
- Chiefly followed by down or out: to pay (money); to plank. Just let them tell him a thing is pretty and fashionable, and Matthew plunks his money down for it.
-
To pluck and quickly release (a string of a stringed instrument); also, to play (a stringed instrument) by plucking strings; to play (a piano, etc.) by striking keys; or, to play (a note or tune) on such an instrument.
Your bass teacher loathed you for loathing the instrument. Every lesson was the same: You would plunk out a few notes, and he would stop you. "Did you practice?" / "Some," you would say. / "You have to practice." / "I know." / Practicing was the most boring thing you had ever done. Plunk plunk plunk
Similar: twang
- Often followed by down: to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing, making a dull sound; to plump. Enrique plunked his money down on the counter with a sigh and bellied up to the bar.
- To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm. Say, I jes' jumped d' bar, an' d' way I plunked [hit] dat bloke was outa sight. See? Dat's right! In d' jaw!
- To pitch a ball in a way that it hits (a player). The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.
- To make a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface; to thud.
- Followed by for: to choose, to opt; to plump.
- To pluck and quickly release a string of a musical instrument; also, to play a stringed instrument by plucking strings; to play a piano, etc., by striking keys; or, to play a note or tune on such an instrument. [D]eafening was what H. V. W. would call the din from the rock stars' dressing rooms where electric guitars whined, drums rattled, sitars plunked; and marijuana made the air a tender blue.
- Often followed by down: to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing with a dull sound; to plump down.
- Of a raven: to croak.
plunk²
- /plʌŋk/ US, UK, Scotland
Rhymes with -ʌŋk
Where it comes from
Origin uncertain; possibly the same as plunk (etymology 1), or related to Dutch plenken (“(archaic) to wander around; (Limburg, archaic) to play truant”).
verb plunks · plunking · plunked
- To be absent from (school) without permission; to be a truant.
- To play truant. Unless we repented and humbly begged for mercy … I might as well tell lies, break crockery, kick the cat, plunk from school, and enjoy my transgressions.
Plunk³
proper noun Plunks
- A surname.
Talk about this word "plunk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/plunk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. plunk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/plunk "plunk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/plunk.Cite this
@misc{plunk_2026,
title = {plunk},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/plunk},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
