Illustration of junk
- 3junk
junk
1 of 3noun (1)
ˈjəŋk 
1
a(1)
: old iron, glass, paper, or other waste that may be used again in some form
(2)
: secondhand, worn, or discarded articles
(3)
: clutter sense 1b
b
: something of poor quality : trash
c
: something of little meaning, worth, or significance
2
: pieces of old cable or cordage used especially to make gaskets, mats, swabs, or oakum
3
slang : narcotics
especially : heroin
4
: junk bond
5
: baseball pitches that break or are off-speed (such as curveballs or changeups)
6
slang : male genitalia
junk
2 of 3verb
junked; junking; junks
transitive verb
: to get rid of as worthless : scrap
junk
3 of 3noun (2)
: any of various ships of Chinese waters with bluff lines, a high poop and overhanging stem, little or no keel, high pole masts, and a deep rudder
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- cheese
- crapola [slang]
- dreck
- drek
- muck
- rubbish
- sleaze
- slop
- slush
- trash
- tripe
Verb
- cashier
- cast (off)
- chuck
- deep-six
- discard
- ditch
- dump
- eighty-six
- 86
- exorcise
- exorcize
- fling (off or away)
- jettison
- lay by
- lose
- pitch
- reject
- scrap
- shed
- shuck (off)
- slough (off)
- sluff (off)
- throw away
- throw out
- toss
- unload
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb We decided to junk our old computer and buy a new one. we'll have to junk this old car
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English jonke
Noun (2)
Portuguese junco, from Javanese joṅ
First Known Use
Noun (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
1911, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1555, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing junk
Kids Definition
junk 1 of 3
noun
ˈjəŋk
1
: things that have been thrown away or are of little value or use
2
: a poorly made product
3
: something of little meaning, worth, or significance
There's nothing but junk on TV tonight.
junk
2 of 3verb
junked; junking
: to get rid of as worthless : scrap
I'm junking this car.
junk
3 of 3noun
: an Asian sailing boat that is high in the front
junk 1 of 2
noun
1
as in rubbish
that which is of low quality or worth couldn't believe that such junk was chosen to be read for the book club my car is junk—it spends more time in the shop than on the road Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- rubbish
- cheese
- trash
- muck
- dreck
- tripe
- drek
- camp
- crapola
- nonsense
- lemon
- bomb
- mess
- sleaze
- slop
- kitsch
- claptrap
- slush
- clunker
- stinker
- turkey
- dud
- humbug
- clinker
- shambles
- muddle
2
as in garbage
discarded or useless material junk on the side of the road waiting for the trash collection Synonyms & Similar Words
- garbage
- debris
- trash
- rubbish
- dust
- truck
- litter
- rubble
- sewage
- waste
- dross
- dreck
- scrap
- deadwood
- offal
- chaff
- refuse
- drek
- wreckage
- riffraff
- lumber
- effluvium
- detritus
- raffle
- effluvia
- crud
- ruins
- spilth
- wash
- dump
- offscouring
- swill
- flotsam
- remains
- discard
- slop
- trumpery
- jetsam
- scrap heap
- castoff
- throwaway
- nothing
- cull
- straw
- reject
- two bits
- hand-me-down
- odds and ends
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- treasure
- trove
- gem
- prize
- pearl
- jewel
- treasure trove
- salvage
- plum
- catch
- booty
- goodie
- valuable
- find
- goody
junk
2 of 2verb
as in to dump
to get rid of as useless or unwanted we'll have to junk this old car Synonyms & Similar Words
- dump
- ditch
- discard
- unload
- scrap
- lose
- shed
- abandon
- chuck
- reject
- toss
- remove
- jettison
- set aside
- throw away
- cashier
- exorcise
- sluff (off)
- eliminate
- throw out
- lay by
- exorcize
- dispose of
- desert
- slough (off)
- shuck (off)
- deep-six
- dismiss
- eighty-six
- fling (off or away)
- pitch
- 86
- forsake
- kick out
- cast (off)
- abolish
- wipe out
- eradicate
- abdicate
- expunge
- liquidate
- exterminate
- extirpate
- annihilate
- extinguish
- stamp (out)
- root (out)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- use
- adopt
- take on
- embrace
- utilize
- keep
- hold
- employ
- retain
- hold back
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of junk are cast, discard, scrap, shed, and slough. While all these words mean "to get rid of," scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.
scrap all the old ways
would junk our educational system
The meanings of cast and junk largely overlap; however, cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.
cast off her friends
Although the words discard and junk have much in common, discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.
discard old clothes
Shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.
shed a bad habit
finally sloughed off the depression