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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

plunk.

A brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/plʌŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland
  1. A brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface.

  2. A (heavy) blow or hit.

    informal
  3. A dollar.

    US · archaic · obsolete · slang
  4. A large sum of money.

    obsolete · rare · slang
Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic; the noun is attested earlier than the verb. Noun etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“dollar; large sum of money”) may refer to the sound of a coin hitting a surface. Compare plonk, plink. As regards verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.4 (“(transitive) to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily”) and etymology 1, verb sense 2.4 (“(intransitive) to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily”), compare French plonquer (Picardy), a variant of plonger (“to plunge”).

adv/plʌŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland
  1. With a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface.

    informal · not-comparable
  2. Directly, exactly, precisely.

    broadly · informal · not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic; the noun is attested earlier than the verb. Noun etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“dollar; large sum of money”) may refer to the sound of a coin hitting a surface. Compare plonk, plink. As regards verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.4 (“(transitive) to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily”) and etymology 1, verb sense 2.4 (“(intransitive) to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily”), compare French plonquer (Picardy), a variant of plonger (“to plunge”).

intj/plʌŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland
  1. Often reduplicated: used to represent a brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface.

    informal
Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic; the noun is attested earlier than the verb. Noun etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“dollar; large sum of money”) may refer to the sound of a coin hitting a surface. Compare plonk, plink. As regards verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.4 (“(transitive) to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily”) and etymology 1, verb sense 2.4 (“(intransitive) to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily”), compare French plonquer (Picardy), a variant of plonger (“to plunge”).

verb/plʌŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland
  1. To move (something) with a sudden push.

    informal · transitive
  2. Chiefly followed by down or out: to pay (money); to plank.

    figuratively · informal · transitive
  3. To pluck and quickly release (a string of a stringed instrument); also, to play (a stringed instrument) by plucking strings; to play (a piano, etc.) by striking keys; or, to play (a note or tune) on such an instrument.

    informal · transitive
  4. Often followed by down: to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing, making a dull sound; to plump.

    also · informal · reflexive · transitive
    Enrique plunked his money down on the counter with a sigh and bellied up to the bar.
    Exhausted, she plunked herself on the sofa.
  5. To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.

    US · informal · transitive
  6. To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm. To pitch a ball in a way that it hits (a player).

    US · informal · transitive
    The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.
  7. To make a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface; to thud.

    informal · intransitive
  8. Followed by for: to choose, to opt; to plump.

    figuratively · informal · intransitive
  9. To pluck and quickly release a string of a musical instrument; also, to play a stringed instrument by plucking strings; to play a piano, etc., by striking keys; or, to play a note or tune on such an instrument.

    informal · intransitive
  10. Often followed by down: to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing with a dull sound; to plump down.

    informal · intransitive
  11. Of a raven: to croak.

    informal · intransitive · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic; the noun is attested earlier than the verb. Noun etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“dollar; large sum of money”) may refer to the sound of a coin hitting a surface. Compare plonk, plink. As regards verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.4 (“(transitive) to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily”) and etymology 1, verb sense 2.4 (“(intransitive) to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily”), compare French plonquer (Picardy), a variant of plonger (“to plunge”).

verb/plʌŋk/General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland
  1. To be absent from (school) without permission; to be a truant.

    Scotland · informal · transitive
  2. To play truant.

    Scotland · informal · intransitive
Where this word comes from

Origin uncertain; possibly the same as plunk (etymology 1), or related to Dutch plenken (“(archaic) to wander around; (Limburg, archaic) to play truant”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.