bunk

B2 Topic:House & Home

US /bʌŋk/ UK /bʌŋk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bonk /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #7781

Meanings

1

noun
a narrow bed or sleeping berth, especially one fixed to a wall or arranged in tiers on a ship, train, or in shared quarters

The exhausted sailor went straight to his bunk after the night watch.
2

noun
nonsense or a statement that is not true, in informal use

The witness dismissed the rumor as complete bunk.
3

verb
to sleep in a bunk or share temporary sleeping quarters

During training, the recruits bunk in a room beside the parade ground.
4

noun
a long trough from which cattle feed

The farmer poured grain into the bunk before releasing the cattle.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a narrow bed or sleeping... berthbunk bed

2 noun · nonsense or a statement... nonsense rubbishbunkum

3 verb · to sleep in a bunk or share... lodge sleep

4 noun · a long trough from which... feed bunkfeeding trough

Opposites

truth sense

Word family

Derived forms bunkbedbunkhousebunkmatebunkroom

Related forms berthbunk bedbunkumfeeding trough

Common collocations

bunk down Verb + adverb

Etymology

The sleeping-berth sense is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Scots bunker ("bench, chest") and Scandinavian words for boards. The informal "nonsense" sense is shortened from bunkum, itself altered from Buncombe, the North Carolina county invoked in an empty political speech in 1820.

Topics

House & Home

External links

# bunk

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /bʌŋk/
**IPA (UK):** /bʌŋk/
**Frequency rank:** 7781

## Meanings
1. a narrow bed or sleeping berth, especially one fixed to a wall or arranged in tiers on a ship, train, or in shared quarters
2. nonsense or a statement that is not true, in informal use
3. to sleep in a bunk or share temporary sleeping quarters
4. a long trough from which cattle feed

## Examples
- The exhausted sailor went straight to his bunk after the night watch.
- The witness dismissed the rumor as complete bunk.
- During training, the recruits bunk in a room beside the parade ground.
- The farmer poured grain into the bunk before releasing the cattle.

## Synonyms
- berth
- bunk bed
- nonsense
- rubbish
- lodge

## Antonyms
- truth
- sense

## Derived Forms
- bunkbed
- bunkhouse
- bunkmate
- bunkroom

## Related Forms
- berth
- bunk bed
- bunkum
- feeding trough

## Etymology
The sleeping-berth sense is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Scots bunker ("bench, chest") and Scandinavian words for boards. The informal "nonsense" sense is shortened from bunkum, itself altered from Buncombe, the North Carolina county invoked in an empty political speech in 1820.

## Topics
- House & Home

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