spunk

[ spuhngk ]
See synonyms for spunk on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. pluck; spirit; mettle.

  2. touchwood, tinder, or punk.

Origin of spunk

1
1530–40; blend of spark1 and obsolete funk spark, touchwood (cognate with Dutch vonk,German Funke)

Other words from spunk

  • spunkless, adjective

Words Nearby spunk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spunk in a sentence

  • Split meets the schooner spunk, Skipper Pluck, afore he begun to get to the line, outside of which he could fish according to law.

  • "I think I should have liked to know spunk," smiled Marie from the other side of the sewing table.

    Miss Billy's Decision | Eleanor H. Porter
  • "Of course Billy's got spunk, but—" he hesitated, and smiled a little.

    Miss Billy | Eleanor H. Porter
  • I hope you don't, for I couldn't live without spunk, and he couldn't live with out me.

    Miss Billy | Eleanor H. Porter

British Dictionary definitions for spunk

spunk

/ (spʌŋk) /


noun
  1. informal courage or spirit

  2. British a slang word for semen

  1. touchwood or tinder, esp originally made from various spongy types of fungus

  2. Australian and NZ informal a person, esp male, who is sexually attractive

Origin of spunk

1
C16 (in the sense: a spark): from Scottish Gaelic spong tinder, sponge, from Latin spongia sponge

usage For spunk

The second sense of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use

Derived forms of spunk

  • spunky, adjective
  • spunkily, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012