slunk

/slʌŋk/

//slʌŋk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"slunk" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slunk” is uncommon English (frequency #98,728 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,728
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An animal, especially a calf, born prematurely or abortively.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slunk · slunk · English

slunk · rank #98,728 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,728
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH smallholding

Nearest frequency peer: smallholding (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “slunk”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “slunk” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for slunk
PropertyValue
Headwordslunk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/slʌŋk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#98,728
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “slunk” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). slunk lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slunk is uncommon English at frequency #98,728 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /slʌŋk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An animal, especially a calf, born prematurely or abortively.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for slunk, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From an allusive sense of slink (“to bring forth young prematurely”). The correct English form is slunk, spelled S-L-U-N-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    An animal, especially a calf, born prematurely or abortively.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how slunk appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Then I met a great guy, Placenta Juan the Afterbirth Tycoon. Made his in slunks during the war. (Slunks are underage calves trailing afterbirths and bacteria, generally in an unsanitary and unfit condition.)
  2. Calf heads were tanned from yearling calves less than a year in age. Slunk skins were tanned from unborn calfskins which, gruesome as it sounds, were often by products of the cow slaughtering process.

Etymology

From an allusive sense of slink (“to bring forth young prematurely”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "slunk"?
"slunk" is spelled S-L-U-N-K. The IPA pronunciation is /slʌŋk/.
What does "slunk" mean?
As a noun, "slunk" means: An animal, especially a calf, born prematurely or abortively.
How do you pronounce "slunk"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slunk" is /slʌŋk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "slunk"?
From an allusive sense of slink (“to bring forth young prematurely”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "slunk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

snoke#98,732sofer#98,735Sokal#98,739squab#98,746

What to do next

You've looked up "slunk". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #98,728 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list