junk
junk Lexical Profile
junk Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Old or discarded articles that are considered useless or of little value.
"We spent the entire weekend clearing accumulated junk out of the attic."
A flat-bottomed sailing vessel typical in China and the East Indies, featuring a prominent stem, a high stern, and lug sails.
"The tourists enjoyed a scenic evening cruise around Victoria Harbour in a traditional wooden junk."
A slang term for heroin or other illicit narcotic drugs.
"He tragically lost his career and his family after getting addicted to junk."
• verb
To discard or abandon something unceremoniously because it is considered useless or broken.
"The engineering team had to junk the initial prototype after it repeatedly failed the safety stress tests."
• Rhymes for junk
Word Origin & Etymology
The word has two distinct origins. The sense meaning 'rubbish' comes from Late Middle English, originally denoting old or inferior cable or rope, of unknown origin. The sense meaning 'ship' comes from Portuguese 'junco' or Dutch 'jonk', ultimately from Javanese 'jong' (ship or large vessel).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.