plunk
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /plʌŋk/
rhymes: -ʌŋk
Forms: form: plunks
form: plunking
form: plunked
form: plunked
Etymology: Onomatopoeic; the noun is attested earlier than the verb. Noun sense 3 (“dollar; large sum of money”) may refer to the sound of a coin hitting a surface.
As regards verb sense 1.4 (“(transitive) to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily”) and sense 2.4 (“(intransitive) to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily”), compare French plonquer (Picardy), a variant of plonger (“to plunge”).
Senses: examples: text: The moving galley's bow was plunking them [oars] back through their own oar-holes, and I could hear no end of a shindy in the decks below.
ref: 1893, Rudyard Kipling, “The Disturber of Traffic”, in Many Inventions, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 16:
glosses: To move (something) with a sudden push.
examples: text: Just let them tell him a thing is pretty and fashionable, and Matthew plunks his money down for it.
ref: 1908 June, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “The Hotel Concert”, in Anne of Green Gables, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, published August 1909, →OCLC, page 373:
glosses: Chiefly followed by down or out: to pay (money); to plank.
examples: text: Your bass teacher loathed you for loathing the instrument. Every lesson was the same: You would plunk out a few notes, and he would stop you. "Did you practice?" / "Some," you would say. / "You have to practice." / "I know." / Practicing was the most boring thing you had ever done. Plunk plunk plunk (rest). Plunk plunk plunk (rest). That was pretty much how the double bass part went in every piece of music your teacher assigned you. He was right, you never practiced.
ref: 2010, Joan Wickersham, “The Boys’ School, or The News from Spain”, in Sven Birkerts, editor, AGNI, number 72, Boston, Mass.: Boston University, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 26:
text: Her friends were boggled by how long it took her to plunk out simple texts, but Kate says she learned skills her peers have never had to master.
ref: 2025 September 6, Catherine Pearson, “She Started the Debate About Kids and Phones. Now She Wants to End It.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
synonyms: twang
glosses: To pluck and quickly release (a string of a stringed instrument); also, to play (a stringed instrument) by plucking strings; to play (a piano, etc.) by striking keys; or, to play (a note or tune) on such an instrument.
examples: text: Enrique plunked his money down on the counter with a sigh and bellied up to the bar.
text: Exhausted, she plunked herself on the sofa.
synonyms: flump
thud
glosses: Often followed by down: to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing, making a dull sound; to plump.
examples: text: Say, I jes' jumped d' bar, an' d' way I plunked [hit] dat bloke was outa sight. See? Dat's right! In d' jaw!
ref: 1896, Stephen Crane, chapter V, in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 43:
glosses: To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.
examples: text: The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.
To pitch a ball in a way that it hits (a player).
glosses: To make a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface; to thud.
glosses: Followed by for: to choose, to opt; to plump.
examples: text: [D]eafening was what H. V. W. would call the din from the rock stars' dressing rooms where electric guitars whined, drums rattled, sitars plunked; and marijuana made the air a tender blue.
ref: 1978, Gore Vidal, chapter 3, in Kalki […], New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 153:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: To pluck and quickly release a string of a musical instrument; also, to play a stringed instrument by plucking strings; to play a piano, etc., by striking keys; or, to play a note or tune on such an instrument.
glosses: Often followed by down: to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing with a dull sound; to plump down.
glosses: Of a raven: to croak.
Derived terms: word: plunker
word: plunking