funks

Noun (1)

funk (countable and uncountable, plural funks)

1. (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
2. (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.

Noun (2)

funk (plural funks)

1. (obsolete) Touchwood, punk, tinder.

Noun (3)

funk (countable and uncountable, plural funks)

1. (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
2. (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
3. (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

See all 13 meanings of funk