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

My using the upper bunk meant that the chairs were still available for me to sit in before bedtime, although the headroom was now significantly limited.

From Washington Post

Most of the crew slept stacked like lumber in an 18-person bunk room and they all took turns in the rack.

From Nautilus

Westmoreland said he sweated it out, shivering in his bunk until, six weeks later, he finally recovered.

From Fortune

The two-bedroom condo was subsidized by the local running store so the six postcollegiate athletes, who all slept in bunk beds, could have an opportunity and some breathing room financially to train and race.

From Fortune

Chewonki spent the summer reorganizing campus so there’s more space in the bunks and dining hall.

From Outside Online

Half of it is taken up by the bunk beds and improvised benches.

From The Daily Beast

Barba offered me a line of cocaine as we sat on his bunk bed covered by posters of musicians and half-naked women.

From The Daily Beast

At the prefab dorms on the American base in Kandahar, I ran into my neighbor from the bunk next door.

From The Daily Beast

We spent our days and nights with the kids at the center, sleeping on bunk beds with thin mattresses.

From The Daily Beast

More than 40 of us crammed into each darkened bay lined with bunk beds.

From The Daily Beast

I remember waking up one night and looking out of my bunk to see him standing on the floor.

From Project Gutenberg

The first man my eyes lighted upon as I stepped inside was MacRae, humped disconsolately on the edge of a bunk.

From Project Gutenberg

Thereafter he went into a contemplative frame of mind to the docks, and found Sam Blake as usual in his bunk.

From Project Gutenberg

He disliked the look of Cash's rough coat and sweater and cap, that hung on a nail over Cash's bunk.

From Project Gutenberg

Bud set him down on the bunk, gave him a mail-order catalogue to look at, and went out again into the storm.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cot
• pallet