Meanings
plural junkmen
- A seller of junk (miscellaneous articles of low value).
It’s the call of the junkman from his horse-drawn cart, a vestige of British culture in the pre-electronic days.
2007 June 18, The New York Times, “New CDs”, in New York Times1 more example
He was leaving behind his few ruined sticks of furniture—a junkman had wanted to be paid to take them—and two sets of cracked dishes, also unsaleable, that Shmuel could do with whatever he wanted—use, ax, or fire—they were worth nothing.
1966, Bernard Malamud, chapter 2, in The FixerSynonyms: junkdealer
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA seller of junk (miscellaneous articles of low value).
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian вехтошар
- вехтошар (vehtošar)seller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Catalan drapaire
- drapaireseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Finnish romukauppias
- romukauppiasseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
German Schrotthändler
- Schrotthändlerseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Hebrew אַלְטֶע זַאכֶן
- אַלְטֶע זַאכֶן (álte zákhen)seller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Indonesian tukang loak, tukang rongsok
- tukang loakseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
- tukang rongsokseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Latin scrutarius
- scrutariusseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Russian старьёвщик
- старьёвщик (starʹjóvščik)seller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Swedish skrothandlare
- skrothandlareseller of junk — see also scrap dealer
Cite this entry
junkman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/junkman
“junkman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/junkman. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “junkman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/junkman.
Source: junkman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.