junk
/d͡ʒʌŋk/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.03 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Material or resources of poor quality or low value, especially resources that lack commercial value.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "This shed is full of junk – will you help me sort it out?"
- "She needs to find a better place to keep her junk [= belongings]."
- "What a piece of junk!"
- "In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result."
- "junk food"
- "junk fish; junk trees"
Etymology
From earlier meaning "old refuse from boats and ships", from Middle English junk, jounke, jonk, joynk (“an old cable or rope”, nautical term), sometimes cut into bits and used as caulking; of uncertain origin; perhaps related to join, joint, juncture. Often compared to Middle English junk, jonk, jonke, junck (“a rush; basket made of rushes”), from Old French jonc, from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”); however, the Oxford English Dictionary finds "no evidence of connexion".
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /d͡ʒʌŋk/
- British English: /d͡ʒʌŋk/