funk

/fʌŋk/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/fɐŋk/

funk noun: foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.

Noun (1)

funk (countable and uncountable, plural funks)

(countable) Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.
- The foulest stench is in the air; the funk of 40,000 years and grisly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom.1982, “Thriller”, in Rod Temperton (lyrics), Quincy Jones (music), Thriller, performed by Michael Jackson (featuring Vincent Price), Epic Records
(uncountable) A style of music derived from 1960s soul music, with elements of rock and other styles, characterized by a prominent bass guitar, dance-friendly sound, a strong emphasis on the downbeat, and much syncopation.

Verb (1)

funk (third-person singular simple present funks, present participle funking, simple past and past participle funked)

(intransitive) To emit an offensive smell; to stink.
(transitive) To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke.
- He funks Basketia and her son to deathc. 1709, William King, The Furmentary
- Funking a cobbler – that is, blowing smoke into his stall; smoking cigars at divans and club houses; […]2012, M. C. Beaton, Diana the Huntress
(intransitive) To perform funk music.
- From the earliest part of this decade when he funked in relative obscurity to his days as a superstar with the release of his Batman soundtrack last summer, I could almost always count on Prince.1989 December 17, Christopher Wittke, “On The Edge In The '80s”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 9
(euphemistic, slang) Fuck (the taboo swear word).
- Funk this!
- Snow bunny, I pledge to funk you baby / You sexy lady, my only temptation […] Oh, I just want to funk you2017, Bootsy Collins, “Snow Bunny”, in World Wide Funk

Noun (2)

funk (plural funks)

(obsolete) Touchwood, punk, tinder.

Noun (3)

funk (countable and uncountable, plural funks)

(countable) Mental depression.
- I've been in a funk lately, I fell into a funk, I slipped into a funk, I was stuck in a funk
- it helped me get out of a funk
(uncountable) A state of fear or panic, especially cowardly.
- [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II
- —A woful lunatic, Mulligan said. Were you in a funk?1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 4
(countable) One who fears or panics; a coward.
- It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.1875, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style

Verb (2)

funk (third-person singular simple present funks, present participle funking, simple past and past participle funked)

(ambitransitive) To shrink from, or avoid something because of fear.
- He'll have funked it, when he comes to the edge, and sees nothing but mist below1857, Charles Kingsley, “(please specify the page)”, in Two Years Ago, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC
- It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.1875, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style
(transitive) To frighten; to cause to flinch.

Proper noun capitalized: Funk

Funk (plural Funks)

A surname

funk meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

funk in Tamil

அச்சம், கோழைத்தனம், துர்நாற்றம், அஞ்சிப் பின்வாங்கு, தட்டிக்கழி

funk in Urdu

فنک

More languagesFewer languages

funk in Bengali: ডর, কাপুরূষ, ভয়, ভয়ে পশ্চাত্পদ ব্যক্তি
funk in Telugu: ఫంక్
funk in Malayalam: ഭയം, സംഭ്രമം, ഭീതി, ഭയചകിതൻ
funk in Kannada: ಫಂಕ್
funk in Punjabi: ਫੰਕ, ਫ਼ੰਕ
funk in Gujarati: ફંક
funk in Odia: ଫଙ୍କ
funk in Nepali: फङ्क, फन्क, फंक

Examples of funk in a sentence

But otherwise, paying almost 20 bucks for pizzazz between a few tortillas in Huntsville, funk that.2023 November 25, Matt Wake, “Five meals under $10 that I love from local Huntsville restaurants (and you will, too!)”, in The Huntsville...
Holmes would say, “In a funk, eh?” Holmes would get him.1925 May 14, Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, London: Leonard and Virginia Woolf at The Hogarth Press, →OCLC:

All 34 example sentences with funk

Synonyms of funk

eff
f-bomb

Forms of funk

Noun
plural	funks
alternative form	vaunk
Verb
third-person singular present	funks
present participle	funking
past participle	funked
past	funked
Proper noun
plural	Funks

Plural of funk: funks

Origin of funk

1620, from French dialectal (Norman) funquer, funquier (“to smoke, reek”), from Old Northern French fungier (“to smoke”), from Vulgar Latin fūmicāre, alteration of Latin fūmigāre (“to smoke, fumigate”). Related to French dialect funkière (“smoke”). More at fumigate.

From Middle English funke, fonke (“spark”), from Old English *funca (“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *funkô (“spark”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peng- (“to shine”). Cognate with Middle Low German funke, fanke (“spark”), Middle Dutch vonke (“spark”), Old High German funcho, funko (“spark”), German Funke (“spark”). See also spunk.

1743, Scottish and Northern English dialectal word, originally a verb meaning “to panic, fail due to panic”. Perhaps from or cognate with obsolete Dutch fonck (“distress, agitation”), from Middle Dutch fonck (“perturbation, agitation”). More at flunk.

Words formed from funk

Phrases with funk

Words that rhyme with funk

17 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about funk

What does funk mean?: Funk means foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.
What is funk in Hindi?: Funk in Hindi is फंक. See Funk meaning in Hindi.
How do you use funk in a sentence?: But otherwise, paying almost 20 bucks for pizzazz between a few tortillas in Huntsville, funk that.
What part of speech is funk?: Funk can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce funk?: Funk is pronounced /fʌŋk/ (UK).
What is the plural of funk?: The plural of funk is funks.

Words near funk in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-funk.wav.

Cite this entry: “funk.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/funk. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.