plunks

Verb

plunk (third-person singular simple present plunks, present participle plunking, simple past and past participle plunked)

1. (informal, transitive) To move (something) with a sudden push.
   • 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.1893, Rudyard Kipling, “The Disturber of Traffic”, in Many Inventions, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 16
2. (figuratively, informal, transitive) Chiefly followed by down or out: to pay (money); to plank.
   • Just let them tell him a thing is pretty and fashionable, and Matthew plunks his money down for it.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
3. (informal, transitive) 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.
   • 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...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

   Synonyms:

   twang

4. (also, informal, reflexive, transitive) 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.
   • Enrique plunked his money down on the counter with a sigh and bellied up to the bar.

   Synonyms:

   flump, thud

5. (US, informal, transitive) To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.
   • Say, I jes' jumped d' bar, an' d' way I plunked [hit] dat bloke was outa sight. See? Dat's right! In d' jaw!1896, Stephen Crane, chapter V, in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 43
   1. (US, informal, transitive) To pitch a ball in a way that it hits (a player).
      • The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.

See all 21 meanings of plunk