gunk

G2U1N1K5
/ɡʌŋk/

noun

Grime, dirt, slime; any vague, messy, or unknown substance.

“I washed all the gunk off the light fixture, and found that it was white, not brown.”

Similar
googoopgrimegungemuckbefoulslurassoil
UncommonScrabble 9
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noungunk (countable and uncountable, plural gunks)

plural gunks

  1. informaluncountableGrime, dirt, slime; any vague, messy, or unknown substance.

    I washed all the gunk off the light fixture, and found that it was white, not brown.

    1 more example

    Don't get gunk on me. I took a bath last Saturday and I'm all clean.

    1989 May 18, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic)

    Synonyms: goo, goop, grime, gunge, muck

  2. uncountableA subculture of 21st century American males, combining elements of modern gothic culture with punk rock.
  3. countableuncountablehuman sciencesAn entity with no atomic parts; infinitely divisible.
  4. countableA member of the gunk subculture.
verbgunk (third-person singular simple present gunks, present participle gunking, simple past and past participle gunked)

present singular third person gunks · participle present gunking · participle past gunked · past gunked

  1. To soil or make dirty.

    Synonyms: befoul, muck, slur, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood)

Synonyms & antonyms

nounGrime, dirt, slime; any vague, messy, or unknown substance.

Similar
googoopgrimegungemuck

verbTo soil or make dirty.

Similar
befoulmuckslurassoilbeclartbedaubbedirtyimbrue (especially with blood)bedizenbefilebefilthbefoulbegrimeberaybeshitbesmearbesmirchbesullybewrayblacken

More synonyms by meaning

nounany thick, viscous matter

Similar
sludgeslimegoogoopgookguckmuckooze
Broader
matter
Also see
beshitdirtendirtygoogookgoopguckgungegunk upmuckoozeslimesludge

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Apparently from Gunk, trademark name for a liquid soap; perhaps taken as a blend of grime + funk.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian лепкав отпадък
  • лепкав отпадък (lepkav otpadăk)dirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Czech sajrajt, maglajz
  • sajrajtdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • maglajzdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • slizdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Finnish töhnä, moska
  • töhnädirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • moskadirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
French saleté
  • saletédirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
German Dreck, Schleim
  • Dreckdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • Schleimdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • Schmieredirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • Schmodderdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • Schmutzdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Italian sudiciume
  • sudiciumedirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Norwegian Bokmål guffe, smørje
  • guffedirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • smørjedirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Portuguese sujeira
  • sujeiradirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Russian грязь
  • грязь (grjazʹ)dirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Spanish porquería, mugre
  • porqueríadirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • mugredirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • pringuedirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • tiznedirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • cochambredirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • suciedaddirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Swedish gegga, kladd
  • geggadirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • kladddirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • smörjadirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Turkish balgam, pislik
  • balgamdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • pislikdirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
  • yağlı/yapışkan maddedirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance
Ukrainian бруд
  • бруд (brud)dirt or grime; any vague or unknown substance

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gunk

trunkfunkjunkunchunkchunkbunkdunkshrunksplunkcrunkthunkdebunkplunkflunkslunkkerplunkdegunkfrunkspelunk
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

gunk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunk

MLA

“gunk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunk. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gunk,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunk.

Source: gunk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.