# dank

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈdæŋk/ · frequency rank #20,602

## Definitions
1. Dark, damp and humid.
2. Moist and sticky, (by extension) highly potent.
3. Great, awesome.
4. Expounding right-wing views in a cool way; based.

## Etymology
From Middle English danke (“wet, damp; dampness, moisture”), probably from North Germanic, related to Swedish dank (“marshy spot”), Icelandic dökk (“pool”), Old Norse dǫkk (“pit, depression”), from Proto-Germanic *dankwaz (“dark”). However, some trace it to a West Germanic source such as Dutch damp (“vapor”) or Middle High German damph, both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dampaz (“smoke, steam, vapor”).
Modern slang senses derived from the drug sense; compare based (“awesome, especially in a right-wing context online”) from drug terminology freebased.

## Easily confused with
- **day** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-day)
- **don** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-don)
- **DNA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dna)
- **den** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-den)
- **das** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-das)
- **DNC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dnc)
- **DIN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-din)
- **dat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dat)
- **dun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dun)
- **dar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dar)
- **DAW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-daw)
- **Dax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dax)
- **dao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dao)
- **dap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dap)
- **DNR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dnr)
- **DnB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dnb)
- **DNP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-dnp)
- **days** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-days)
- **done** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-done)
- **data** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dank-vs-data)

## Common misspellings (6)
`adnk`, `dakn`, `dankk`, `dannk`, `ddank`, `dnak`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dank