noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Grime, dirt, slime; any vague, messy, or unknown substance. informal, uncountable

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

2. 2
   any thick, viscous matter wordnet
3. 3
   A subculture of 21st century American males, combining elements of modern gothic culture with punk rock. uncountable
4. 4
   A member of the gunk subculture. countable

Verb

1. 1
   To soil or make dirty.

Synonyms

All synonyms

googoogoopgoopmuckmuck

Example

More examples

"The pool tile was disgusting looking, being full of gunk."

Etymology

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

Related phrases

eye gunkgamer gunkgunk up

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.