punk

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A style of loud, fast, rebellious rock music and its associated subculture from the 1970s.

   He grew up listening to punk and still loves the energy of it.

2. 2
   noun

   A fan of punk music or someone who follows its style.

   The concert was packed with punks in leather jackets and spiked hair.

3. 3
   adj

   Relating to punk rock or its style and subculture.

   She wore a punk outfit with ripped jeans and chains.

4. 4
   noun

   A worthless or contemptible person.

   He's just a small-time punk who thinks he's tough.

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).

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