bunk
/bʌŋk/noun, verb, adjective
bunk is spelled B-U-N-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bunk means “One of a series of berths or beds placed in tiers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bunk is bunks.
How many letters and syllables are in bunk?
| Letters | 4: B-U-N-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bunk?
Bunk appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bunk?
- /bʌŋk/
Bunk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-bunk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bunk
- bunks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bunking participle, present
- bunked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bunk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One of a series of berths or beds placed in tiers.
Jane sleeps in the top bunk, and her little sister Lauren takes the bottom bunk.
- 2
A built-in bed on board ship, often erected in tiers one above the other.
- 3
A cot.
- 4
informalA bed in a prison, worksite or similar location.
- 5
USA wooden case or box, which serves for a seat in the daytime and for a bed at night.
- 6
USA piece of wood placed on a lumberman's sled to sustain the end of heavy timbers.
- 7
A dormitory or bunkroom where soldiers sleep.
Don’t leave your bunk unlocked.
- 8
datedslangBunkum; senseless talk, nonsense.
What she said about me was total bunk. Don't believe a word.
- 9
obsoleteIn early use often in the form the bunk.
- 10
slangA specimen of a recreational drug with insufficient active ingredient.
- 11
slangA hasty departure.
verb
- 1
To occupy a bunk.
Due to bed shortages, Jeff and Paul had to bunk together.
- 2
To provide a bunk.
- 3
IndiaUKslangTo fail to attend school or work without permission; to play truant (usually 'to bunk off').
The naughty boys decided to bunk school and visit the comic shop.
- 4
UKdatedslangTo expel from a school.
- 5
slangTo depart; scram.
adjective
- 1
slangDefective, broken, not functioning properly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bunk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | couchette , faire l’école buissonnière, buissonner |
| German | Koje , Quatsch |
| Portuguese | beliche |
| Spanish | litera , hacer novillos, hacer la cimarra , camarote |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bunk come from?
Sense of sleeping berth possibly from Scottish Scottish English bunker (“seat, bench”), the origin of which is uncertain but possibly Scandinavian (North Germanic); compare Old Swedish bunke (“boards used to protect the cargo of a ship”). Possibly related to bunch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).