clunk
/klʌŋk/noun, verb
clunk is spelled C-L-U-N-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 72,332nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clunk means “A dull, metallic sound, especially one made by two bodies coming into contact” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clunk is clunks.
How many letters and syllables are in clunk?
| Letters | 5: C-L-U-N-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 72,332nd 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 clunk?
Clunk appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 72,332nd 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 clunk?
- /klʌŋk/
Clunk 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-clunk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of clunk
- clunks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- clunking participle, present
- clunked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clunk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A dull, metallic sound, especially one made by two bodies coming into contact.
- 2
datedThe sound of liquid coming out of a bottle, etc.; a glucking sound.
- 3
derogatoryoffensivedull; foolish; stupid or silly person.
verb
- 1
To make such a sound.
Her old bicycle was clunking along the road.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does clunk come from?
Onomatopoeic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).