# jank

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈd͡ʒæŋk/

## Definitions
1. Perceptible pause in the smooth rendering of a software application's user interface due to slow operations or poor interface design.
2. Game mechanics of unconventional or flawed design or implementation, and the experience of such mechanics, as to ruin or disrupt play, or break immersion; e.g. bugs and glitches.
3. A game, or games, with such mechanics.

## Etymology
Ostensibly a back-formation from janky (“shoddy, poor quality”).

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