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Punk
Definitions
- 1 Worthless, contemptible, particularly; Bad, substandard. US, colloquial
"Babbitt boomed on: "Pretty punk service the Company giving us on these car-lines. Nonsense to only run the Portland Road cars once every seven minutes. Fellow gets mighty cold on a winter morning, waiting on a street corner with the wind nipping at his ankles.""
- 2 Worthless, contemptible, particularly; Thuggish, criminal. US, colloquial
- 3 Worthless, contemptible, particularly; Cowardly. US, colloquial
"... Donald Trump is also a coward. For all of his tough talk and bluster, the president of the United States is a punk ass bitch."
- 4 Worthless, contemptible, particularly; Poorly, sickly. US, colloquial
"With the subtleties of dressing ran other complex worries. "I feel kind of punk this morning," he said. "I think I had too much dinner last evening. You oughtn't to serve those heavy banana fritters.""
- 5 Worthless, contemptible, particularly; Inexperienced. US, colloquial
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- 6 Of or concerning punk rock or its associated subculture.
"You look very punk with your t-shirt, piercing, and chains."
- 1 of very poor quality; flimsy wordnet
- 1 One who engages in sexual intercourse; A female prostitute. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"My lord, she may be a punk; for many of them are neither maid, widow, nor wife."
- 2 Any material used as tinder for lighting fires, such as agaric, dried wood, or touchwood, but especially wood altered by certain fungi. uncountable
"As the East-Indians use Moxa, so these burn with Punk, which is the inward Part of the Excrescence or Exuberance of an Oak."
- 3 rock music with deliberately offensive lyrics expressing anger and social alienation; in part a reaction against progressive rock wordnet
- 4 One who engages in sexual intercourse; A boy or younger man who engages in sexual intercourse by an older man as a (usually passive) homosexual partner. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The Beaus... At night make a Punk of him that's first drunk."
- 5 A utensil for lighting wicks or fuses (such as those of fireworks) resembling stick incense. countable
"On the end a coal of fire slowly smouldered. It would last for hours, and my cell-mate called it a "punk.""
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- 6 an aggressive and violent young criminal wordnet
- 7 One who engages in sexual intercourse; A passive or effeminate homosexual man. US, countable, uncountable
- 8 a teenager or young adult who is a performer (or enthusiast) of punk rock and a member of the punk youth subculture wordnet
- 9 One who engages in sexual intercourse; A boy who accompanies a hobo, especially as used for sex. US, countable, slang, uncountable
"They'd pick up youngsters as, well—as their playthings. These kids were called punks."
- 10 material for starting a fire wordnet
- 11 One who engages in sexual intercourse; A male homosexual. US, countable, derogatory, uncountable
- 12 substance that smolders when ignited; used to light fuses (especially fireworks) wordnet
- 13 One who engages in sexual intercourse; A man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship, especially in prison. US, countable, slang, uncountable
"A punk, if you want it in plain English, is a boy with smooth skin who takes the place of a woman in a jailbird's love life."
- 14 A worthless person, particularly US, countable, slang
"This fellow was just a punk... a nobody."
- 15 A worthless person; Any person, especially a male comrade. US, countable, humorous, rare, slang, uncountable
- 16 A worthless person; A petty criminal, especially a juvenile delinquent. US, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"He said the prisoner called them ‘punk’... He admitted that he shouted ‘punk’ to them."
- 17 A worthless person; A weak, timid person. US, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"Do you think a little thing like a scratch would bother me? I'm no punk."
- 18 A worthless person; Synonym of amateur. US, countable, slang, uncountable
- 19 A worthless person; A young, untrained animal or worker. US, countable, slang, uncountable
- 20 A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:; Ellipsis of punk rock, a genre known for short, loud, energetic songs with electric guitars and strong drums and shocking or political lyrics. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"Who else... would have the nerve to actually begin a song with the line ‘Whatchew gonna do, mama, now that the roast beef's gone...?’ Man, that is true punk; that is so fucked up it's got class up the ass."
- 21 A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:; The fashion style associated with punk rock, typically involving leather, metal studs and pins, distressed clothing and confrontational slogans. countable, uncountable
"Thus, punk girls combined elements of female dress (bodysuits, skirts) with punk accessories (bullet belt, emocore shirt) to create a distinctly female punk look that's "as girly" as they get."
- 22 A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:; A nonconformist social movement originally associated with punk rock and its fans, combining anarchism and radicalism, usually (but not necessarily) left-wing. countable, uncountable
"This emphasis on politics in the personal sphere might be a difference between punk now and punk fifteen years ago."
- 23 A group of associated musical, artistic and social movements emerging out of the counterculture in the 1970s:; Any of the -punk genres, typically involving anachronistic technology and its social impact: dieselpunk, solarpunk, steampunk etc. countable, in-compounds, uncountable, usually
"Some of these genres produce unique and intriguing subculture groups, usually referred to as types of "punks": cyberpunk, teslapunk, atompunk, biopunk, etc."
- 24 A follower of any of these movements, including:; Ellipsis of punk rocker; a musician known for playing punk rock or a fan of the genre. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"My girlfriend is a punk and she plays the drums."
- 25 A follower of any of these movements, including:; A person who designs or dresses in punk fashion style. countable, uncountable
- 26 A follower of any of these movements, including:; A member of the punk social movement; usually anarchist and socially non-conformist although potentially either left-wing or right-wing. countable, uncountable
"In the daily praxis of punk, vegetarianism and veganism are strategies through which many punks combat corporate capitalism, patriarchy, and environmental collapse."
- 27 A follower of any of these movements, including:; A fan of a -punk genre of fiction, or a person who dresses in a style associated with it. countable, in-compounds, uncountable, usually
- 1 To pimp. slang
- 2 To forcibly perform anal sex upon (an unwilling partner). slang, transitive
"Ricky punked his new cell-mates."
- 3 To prank. slang, transitive
"I got expelled when I punked the principal."
- 4 To give up or concede; to act like a wimp. especially
"Jimmy was going to help me with the prank, but he punked (out) at the last minute."
- 5 To adapt or embellish in the style of the punk movement. often, transitive
"Suzy, a pump young woman with sparkling brown eyes and punked hair tucked behind her ears, said blankly, "What?""
Etymology
Uncertain. Possibly from punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”), attested since 1678, to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908). The relatively tame 21st century usage of punk (“prank”, verb) was popularized by the American television show Punk'd (2003).
Uncertain. Possibly from punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”), attested since 1678, to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908). The relatively tame 21st century usage of punk (“prank”, verb) was popularized by the American television show Punk'd (2003).
Uncertain. Possibly from punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”), attested since 1678, to anything worthless (attested since 1869) and then to any undesirable person (since 1908). The relatively tame 21st century usage of punk (“prank”, verb) was popularized by the American television show Punk'd (2003).
Unclear; first attested circa 1680 in writings about Native American practices, probably from Unami punkw (“dust”), though it has also been suggested it could be an alteration of spunk (“tinder”) (compare funk (“rotten wood”)).
See also for "punk"
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