What does "bunk" mean?
One of a series of berths or beds placed in tiers.
Bunk
/bʌŋk/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One of a series of berths or beds placed in tiers.
- Grammar: bunk is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: berth, bunk bed, hogwash, nonsense.
- Useful contrasts: accuracy, awake, fact.
- Usage evidence: She fell from the top of the bunk bed.
How to use "bunk"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bunk" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bunk" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bunk" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bunk" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bunk" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "berth" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bunk", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of a series of berths or beds placed in tiers.
"Jane sleeps in the top bunk, and her little sister Lauren takes the bottom bunk."
- 2 Bunkum; senseless talk, nonsense. dated, slang, uncountable
"What she said about me was total bunk. Don't believe a word."
- 3 a bed on a ship or train; usually in tiers wordnet
- 4 A built-in bed on board ship, often erected in tiers one above the other.
- 5 In early use often in the form the bunk. obsolete, uncountable
"This knife-throwing act is the bunk"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 a rough bed (as at a campsite) wordnet
- 7 A cot.
- 8 A specimen of a recreational drug with insufficient active ingredient. slang, uncountable
"I still can get off with a pound of bunk and pretend it's some Runtz"
- 9 a long trough for feeding cattle wordnet
- 10 A wooden case or box, which serves for a seat in the daytime and for a bed at night. US
- 11 beds built one above the other wordnet
- 12 A piece of wood placed on a lumberman's sled to sustain the end of heavy timbers. US, dialectal
- 13 a message that seems to convey no meaning wordnet
- 14 A dormitory or bunkroom where soldiers sleep. Singapore, broadly
"Don’t leave your bunk unlocked."
- 15 unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To occupy a bunk.
"Due to bed shortages, Jeff and Paul had to bunk together."
- 2 To fail to attend school or work without permission; to play truant (usually as in 'to bunk off'). British, India
"The naughty boys decided to bunk school and visit the comic shop."
- 3 flee; take to one's heels; cut and run wordnet
- 4 To provide a bunk.
- 5 To expel from a school. dated
"She was bunked from the convent last term. I don't quite know what for."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 provide with a bunk wordnet
- 7 To depart; scram. slang
""They're moving off," he said. "[…] [T]he funny little man with the beard like a goat is going a different way from everyone else — the gardeners will have to head him off. I don't see Mademoiselle, though. The rest of you had better bunk. […]""
- 8 avoid paying wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Defective, broken, not functioning properly. not-comparable, slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"She fell from the top of the bunk bed."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bunk"?
Common synonyms include: berth, bunk bed, hogwash, nonsense, abide, abscond.
How do you use "bunk" in a sentence?
She fell from the top of the bunk bed.
How do you pronounce "bunk"?
Pronounced /bʌŋk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Sense of sleeping berth possibly from Scottish English bunker (“seat, bench”), origin is uncertain but possibly Scandinavian. Compare Old Swedish bunke (“boards used to protect the cargo of a ship”). See also boarding, flooring and compare bunch.
Etymology 2
Shortened from bunkum, a variant of buncombe, from Buncombe County, North Carolina. See bunkum for more.
Etymology 3
19th century, of uncertain origin; perhaps from previous "to occupy a bunk" meaning, with connotations of a hurried departure, as if on a ship.