clunk
1 of 2verb
ˈkləŋk 
clunked; clunking; clunks
intransitive verb
1
: to make a clunk
2
: to hit something with a clunk
transitive verb
: to strike or hit with a clunk
clunk
2 of 2noun
1
: a blow or the sound of a blow : thump
2
: a dull or stupid person
Synonyms
Noun
- airhead
- birdbrain
- blockhead
- bonehead
- bubblehead
- chowderhead
- chucklehead
- clodpoll
- clodpole
- clot [British]
- cluck
- cretin
- cuddy [British dialect]
- cuddie
- deadhead
- dim bulb [slang]
- dimwit
- dip
- dodo
- dolt
- donkey
- doofus [slang]
- dope
- dork [slang]
- dullard
- dum-dum
- dumbbell
- dumbhead
- dummkopf
- dummy
- dunce
- dunderhead
- fathead
- gander
- golem
- goof
- goon
- half-wit
- hammerhead
- hardhead
- idiot
- ignoramus
- imbecile
- jackass
- know-nothing
- knucklehead
- lamebrain
- loggerhead [chiefly dialect]
- loon
- lump
- lunkhead
- meathead
- mome [archaic]
- moron
- mug [chiefly British]
- mutt
- natural
- nimrod [slang]
- nincompoop
- ninny
- ninnyhammer
- nit [chiefly British]
- nitwit
- noddy
- noodle
- numskull
- numbskull
- oaf
- pinhead
- prat [British]
- ratbag [chiefly Australian]
- saphead
- schlub [slang]
- shlub
- schnook [slang]
- simpleton
- stock
- stupe
- stupid
- thickhead
- turkey
- woodenhead
- yahoo
- yo-yo
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun The book hit the floor with a loud clunk. don't be such a clunk and just get on with it
Recent Examples on the Web
David Gambacorta, Longreads, 13 July 2022 And then watch another person shoot a 3-pointer and clunk it off the rim? Jason Gay, WSJ, 30 May 2022 Doors clunk reassuringly, trim panels are neatly finished, plastics are soft to the touch, and the central drive shifter feels great in the hand. Daniel Bentley, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2021 Other regular comments include the disconcertingly loud clunking noises that happen while plugged in at one of Tesla's fast-charging Superchargers. Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 16 Apr. 2020 The rod's bushings are a likely source of a clunking noise. Stef Schrader, Popular Mechanics, 25 Apr. 2020 In an instantly symbolic moment on Monday, Troy Price, the state Democratic chairman, was speaking at a news conference in Des Moines when the party’s logo fell off his lectern and clunked to the floor. Jack Healy, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020 Finally, the sound of locks clunking open, followed by a face in the doorway. Chris Ballard, SI.com, 2 Oct. 2019 In fact, Hamill says that one of the biggest Star Wars original trilogy secrets is that more than half the dialogue was recorded in post-production due to all the intrusive noises from smoke and wind machines, prop effects, and even clunking robots. James Hibberd, EW.com, 9 Dec. 2019 Gary Schiff, Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2022 The buzz-clunk when the guards first pop the cellblock door means it’s 7 a.m. Keri Blakinger, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2022 On that fictitious planet, teens put on VR googles, thin as pencils rather than clunk like existing Oculus headsets, and transported themselves into nightclubs with friends. Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 10 Apr. 2022 But despite the extra juice, the power glut is not obtrusive as the vehicle's two diverse and generally harmonious powertrains got down to it, save a one-time, mild clunk from the rear. Jamie Kitman, Car and Driver, 18 Mar. 2022 Sensations of baseball — the smell of glove leather and grass and the crack and clunk of bat on ball — will be threaded through the game when teams from Connecticut and New York City play on Saturday. Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, 13 Oct. 2021 The room got quiet as the wheel stopped with a double clunk on each new image. Dan Egan, jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2021 Some resembled the woody clunk of knuckles rapping on a door; others, the soft ringing of a gong. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 29 June 2021 There’s was no clunk late in the period, though; Keith sniped the puck top corner for this third goal of the season. Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2021 See More
Verb
Candi Staton heard doors clunk open, and several pairs of footsteps approach. David Gambacorta, Longreads, 13 July 2022 And then watch another person shoot a 3-pointer and clunk it off the rim? Jason Gay, WSJ, 30 May 2022 Doors clunk reassuringly, trim panels are neatly finished, plastics are soft to the touch, and the central drive shifter feels great in the hand. Daniel Bentley, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2021 Other regular comments include the disconcertingly loud clunking noises that happen while plugged in at one of Tesla's fast-charging Superchargers. Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 16 Apr. 2020 The rod's bushings are a likely source of a clunking noise. Stef Schrader, Popular Mechanics, 25 Apr. 2020 In an instantly symbolic moment on Monday, Troy Price, the state Democratic chairman, was speaking at a news conference in Des Moines when the party’s logo fell off his lectern and clunked to the floor. Jack Healy, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020 Finally, the sound of locks clunking open, followed by a face in the doorway. Chris Ballard, SI.com, 2 Oct. 2019 In fact, Hamill says that one of the biggest Star Wars original trilogy secrets is that more than half the dialogue was recorded in post-production due to all the intrusive noises from smoke and wind machines, prop effects, and even clunking robots. James Hibberd, EW.com, 9 Dec. 2019 Noun
In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd tossed a stone into a cave and heard a clunk as one of the stones hit a clay jar. Gary Schiff, Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2022 The buzz-clunk when the guards first pop the cellblock door means it’s 7 a.m. Keri Blakinger, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2022 On that fictitious planet, teens put on VR googles, thin as pencils rather than clunk like existing Oculus headsets, and transported themselves into nightclubs with friends. Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 10 Apr. 2022 But despite the extra juice, the power glut is not obtrusive as the vehicle's two diverse and generally harmonious powertrains got down to it, save a one-time, mild clunk from the rear. Jamie Kitman, Car and Driver, 18 Mar. 2022 Sensations of baseball — the smell of glove leather and grass and the crack and clunk of bat on ball — will be threaded through the game when teams from Connecticut and New York City play on Saturday. Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, 13 Oct. 2021 The room got quiet as the wheel stopped with a double clunk on each new image. Dan Egan, jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2021 Some resembled the woody clunk of knuckles rapping on a door; others, the soft ringing of a gong. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 29 June 2021 There’s was no clunk late in the period, though; Keith sniped the puck top corner for this third goal of the season. Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
imitative
First Known Use
Verb
circa 1796, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
clunk
noun
ˈkləŋk
: a loud dull sound
clunkers
noun
1
as in crates
a dilapidated old automobile she drove a clunker because she couldn't afford anything better Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- crates
- junkers
- wrecks
- jalopies
- hulks
- lemons
- flivvers
- beaters
2
as in disasters
something that has failed a real clunker, the movie was soon littering the shelves of video stores everywhere Synonyms & Similar Words
- disasters
- failures
- disappointments
- losers
- duds
- bombs
- catastrophes
- busts
- clinkers
- washouts
- flops
- fiascoes
- lemons
- debacles
- shipwrecks
- misses
- bummers
- messes
- débâcles
- frosts
- turkeys
- fizzles
- dogs
- has-beens
- near misses
- also-rans
- shambles
- botches
- hashes
- nonstarters
- nonevents
- muddles
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- blockbusters
- successes
- winners
- hits
- smashes
- corkers
- phenomena
- crackerjacks
- dandies
- phenomenons
- crackajacks
- jim-dandies