punk

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈpʌŋk/ See IPA manual

Freq #3396

Meanings

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

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

adj
Relating to punk rock or its style and subculture.

She wore a punk outfit with ripped jeans and chains.
4

noun
A worthless or contemptible person.

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

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms punks

Derived forms afropunkanarcho-punkantipunkatompunkbiopunkclockpunkcowpunkcyberpunkcypherpunkdeathpunkdieselpunkedupunk

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).

External links

# punk

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈpʌŋk/
**Frequency rank:** 3396

## Meanings
1. A style of loud, fast, rebellious rock music and its associated subculture from the 1970s.
2. A fan of punk music or someone who follows its style.
3. Relating to punk rock or its style and subculture.
4. A worthless or contemptible person.

## Examples
- He grew up listening to punk and still loves the energy of it.
- The concert was packed with punks in leather jackets and spiked hair.
- She wore a punk outfit with ripped jeans and chains.
- He's just a small-time punk who thinks he's tough.

## Derived Forms
- afropunk
- anarcho-punk
- antipunk
- atompunk
- biopunk
- clockpunk
- cowpunk
- cyberpunk
- cypherpunk
- deathpunk
- dieselpunk
- edupunk

## 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).

## AI Etymology
Punk is of uncertain origin. 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). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as afropunk, anarcho-punk, antipunk, and atompunk. In present use it covers a style of loud, fast, rebellious rock music and its associated subculture from the 1970s, a fan of punk music or someone who follows its style, and relating to punk rock or its style and subculture.

## Topics
- People & Society

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punk

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