bunk

¹

[ buhngk ]

noun

1. a built-in platform bed, as on a ship.
2. Informal. any bed.
3. a cabin used for sleeping quarters, as in a summer camp; bunkhouse.
4. a trough for feeding cattle.

verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to occupy a bunk or any sleeping quarters:

   Joe and Bill bunked together at camp.

verb (used with object)

1. to provide with a place to sleep.

bunk

²

[ buhngk ]

noun

, Informal.

1. humbug; nonsense.

   Synonyms: hooey, bull, applesauce, hogwash, rot, baloney

bunk

³

[ buhngk ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. Chiefly New York City. to bump.

bunk

⁴

[ buhngk ]

verb (used with object)

1. to absent oneself from (school, work, etc.):

   to bunk a history class.

verb (used without object)

1. to run off or away; flee:

   When they heard the distant police sirens, they dropped the bag of jewelry and silver and bunked.

bunk

¹

/ bʌŋk /

noun

1. a hurried departure, usually under suspicious circumstances (esp in the phrase do a bunk )

verb

1. usually foll by off to play truant from (school, work, etc)

bunk

²

/ bʌŋk /

noun

1. a narrow shelflike bed fixed along a wall
2. short for bunk bed
3. informal.
   any place where one sleeps

verb

1. introften foll bydown to prepare to sleep

   he bunked down on the floor

2. intr to occupy a bunk or bed
3. tr to provide with a bunk or bed

bunk

³

/ bʌŋk /

noun

1. informal.
   short for bunkum

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunk¹

First recorded in 1750–60; back formation from bunker

Origin of bunk²

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; short for bunkum

Origin of bunk³

Perhaps expressive alteration of bump

Origin of bunk⁴

First recorded in 1865–70; perhaps special use of bunk ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunk¹

C19: perhaps from bunk ¹(in the sense: to occupy a bunk, hence a hurried departure, as on a ship)

Origin of bunk²

C19: probably short for bunker

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. do a bunk, to leave hastily, especially under suspicious circumstances; run away.

Example Sentences

News website readers were only less so because the survey didn't distinguish between legitimate sites like Salon and bunk outlets like Breitbart, but still: merely being a person who reads stuff makes you more liberal.

From Salon

She doesn’t know what she would have done if her daughter hadn’t offered her a room in her crowded home, where Domínguez bunks with one of her grandchildren.

From Los Angeles Times

Sitting on the bottom bunk, she tied the sheet above her and tightened it around her neck.

From Los Angeles Times

They had found a latent palm print on her bunk bed.

From Los Angeles Times

“There are two bunk beds in there, there’s a double bed and there’s a fold-up dining table,” she says.

From BBC

Related Words

• cot
• pallet