What does "spunk" mean?
A spark.
Spunk
/spʌŋk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A spark.
- Grammar: spunk is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adventuresomeness, adventurousness, aggression, aggressiveness.
- Useful contrasts: cowardice, meekness, timidity.
- Usage evidence: "[...] That's none such an entirely bad little man, yon little man with the red head," said Alan. "He has some spunks of decency."
How to use "spunk"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spunk" 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 "spunk" 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 "spunk" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spunk" 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 "spunk" is acting as 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 "adventuresomeness" 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 "spunk", 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 A spark. countable, obsolete, usually
""[...] That's none such an entirely bad little man, yon little man with the red head," said Alan. "He has some spunks of decency.""
- 2 the courage to carry on wordnet
- 3 Touchwood; tinder. uncountable, usually
"Spunk, or Touch-wood prepared, might perhaps make it Russet: and some, as Beringuccio affirmeth, have promised to make it Red."
- 4 material for starting a fire wordnet
- 5 A piece of tinder, sometimes impregnated with sulphur; a match. Scotland, countable, obsolete, usually
"At present, her only means of procuring subsistence for herself and children, is by making spunks or matches, which, either she or her eldest child, a girl about six years of age, sells from door to door."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Courage; spirit; mettle; determination. uncountable, usually
"1847, Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, ch 17. She showed me the letters of another individual, too, the unfortunate Mr. Green, who had not the courage, or, as she expressed it, the “spunk,” to plead his cause in person, but whom one denial would not satisfy: he must write again and again."
- 7 An attractive person; a good-looker. Australia, New-Zealand, UK, countable, slang, usually
"I got a transfer in my bank job and on the first day on the job in the big smoke I had to share a teller's box with a young lady called Kim, a real spunk and my future wife."
- 8 Semen. UK, slang, uncountable, usually, vulgar
"Curse the blasted, jelly-boned swines[...] the sniveling, dribbling, dithering palsied pulse-less lot that make up England today. They've got white of egg in their veins, and their spunk is that watery it's a marvel they can breed."
Verb
- 1 To catch fire; flame up. intransitive, obsolete
- 2 To ejaculate. intransitive, slang, vulgar
"He spunked into the condom."
- 3 To waste (money etc.). slang, transitive, vulgar
Example
""[...] That's none such an entirely bad little man, yon little man with the red head," said Alan. "He has some spunks of decency.""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spunk"?
Common synonyms include: adventuresomeness, adventurousness, aggression, aggressiveness, amadou, ambitiousness.
How do you use "spunk" in a sentence?
"[...] That's none such an entirely bad little man, yon little man with the red head," said Alan. "He has some spunks of decency."
How do you pronounce "spunk"?
Pronounced /spʌŋk/.
Etymology
1530, blend of spark + funk (obsolete, “spark”). Funk (“spark, touchwood”) is from Middle English funke, fonke (“spark”), from Old English *funca (“spark”), from Proto-West Germanic *funkō, from Proto-Germanic *funkô (“spark”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peng- (“to shine”), and is akin to Middle Low German funke, fanke (“spark”), Middle Dutch vonke (“spark”), Old High German funcho, funko (“spark”), German Funke (“spark”).