junk

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
a(1)
: old iron, glass, paper, or other waste that may be used again in some form
(2)
: secondhand, worn, or discarded articles
b
: something of poor quality : trash
c
: something of little meaning, worth, or significance
2
: pieces of old cable or cordage used especially to make gaskets, mats, swabs, or oakum
3
slang : narcotics
especially : heroin
4
5
: baseball pitches that break or are off-speed (such as curveballs or changeups)
6
slang : male genitalia

junk

2 of 3

verb

junked; junking; junks

transitive verb

: to get rid of as worthless : scrap

junk

3 of 3

noun (2)

: any of various ships of Chinese waters with bluff lines, a high poop and overhanging stem, little or no keel, high pole masts, and a deep rudder

Illustration of junk

Illustration of junk
  • 3junk
Choose the Right Synonym for junk

discard, cast, shed, slough, scrap, junk mean to get rid of.

discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

discard old clothes

cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

cast off her friends

shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.

shed a bad habit
finally sloughed off the depression

scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

scrap all the old ways
would junk our educational system

Examples of junk in a Sentence

Verb We decided to junk our old computer and buy a new one. we'll have to junk this old car
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Prints were often stripped of their silver content and junked. Dan Barry, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Her characters are often antique pickers, interior designers, real estate agents, location scouts, house flippers and those who go on junking trips. Marni Jameson, The Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2024 Computer manufacturers also installed all kinds of additional support software, registration screens, and other things that generally extended the setup process and junked up your Start menu and desktop. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 21 Aug. 2023 And then the Republicans junked that plan and passed a map that was tilted wildly in their favor. Kyle Whitmire | Kwhitmire@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2023 The cost to repair it was onerous, and Hilton had no option but to junk it. Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2022 Pension costs have weighed on the city’s credit rating for years, which partly spurred Moody’s Investors Service to downgrade the city to junk in 2015. Shruti Singh, Bloomberg.com, 21 Oct. 2020 Place a slim chest of drawers or a demilune table right outside the entrance to your room to offer a spot to put away books or small accessories that would otherwise junk up your nightstand. Jenn Andrlik, House Beautiful, 20 Apr. 2023 But somebody cherry-picked a few passages from an 800-page training manual and now Ivey is more than willing to junk the state’s one educational success story to appease the anti-woke crusaders. Kyle Whitmire | , al, 25 Apr. 2023
Noun
Two burned out trailers and a pile of junk extend around the perimeter, with what looks like a bunker of trash lying a few paces beyond. Jonah Gercke, SPIN, 15 Mar. 2024 The junk fees crackdown is part of a series of moves the Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday. Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Forget reading or responding; even just finding those messages amid the junk can be a chore. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2024 Even the right system can become the kitchen junk drawer if it's not monitored. Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The White House hopes taking on junk fees will help win over voters. Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024 In the meantime, federal officials on Tuesday are set to unveil their next round of regulatory action targeting junk fees. Tony Romm, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 By Matt Egan | CNN Federal regulators finalized a rule on Tuesday to cap most credit card late fees at $8 as part of a broader push by the Biden administration to eliminate junk fees. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 The law wants Apple to allow third-party app stores on iPhones, so Apple introduced a new junk fee for developers who dare to use that new facility. David Meyer, Fortune Europe, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'junk.' 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

Noun (1)

Middle English jonke

Noun (2)

Portuguese junco, from Javanese joṅ

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1911, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1555, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of junk was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near junk

Cite this Entry

“Junk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/junk. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

junk

1 of 3 noun
1
: articles discarded as worthless
2
: something of poor quality : trash
3
slang : narcotic entry 1 sense 1
especially : heroin
junky adjective

junk

2 of 3 verb
: to get rid of as worthless : scrap

junk

3 of 3 noun
: a ship of eastern Asia with a high stern and four-cornered sails
Etymology

Noun

Middle English jonke "piece of old or worn-out rope"

Noun

from Portuguese junco "a Chinese ship"

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