punk
Pluralpunks
Pluralpunks
- 1Short for punk rock: a fast, loud, raw style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1970s, with short songs and often rebellious or political lyrics.
Their first album was raw, fast punk recorded in a single weekend.
The club booked punk on Friday nights and jazz on Sundays.
UsageUsually no article: people play punk, love punk, listen to punk.
Note
Lester Bangs was already using it in Creem in November 1972, early in the decade the punk movements emerged, to praise a song's sheer nerve.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Lester Bangs used punk in Creem in November 1972. en.wiktionary.org
- Bangs used punk approvingly in discussing the nerve displayed by a song's opening. en.wiktionary.org
- The punk movements emerged during the 1970s. en.wiktionary.org
- 2Relating to punk rock or to the subculture that surrounds it.
The label still runs on a punk ethos of cheap shows and homemade records.
The town's punk scene grew out of a single basement club.
UsageCan be graded: very punk, punker than the rest.
Note
It has also spread from sound and dress to attitude: a business can claim a punk ethos, and Rob Davies, reporting in 2017, shows the craft brewer BrewDog accused of hypocrisy on exactly that claim after it forced a family-run pub to change its name.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Rob Davies reported the BrewDog controversy in 2017. en.wiktionary.org
- Davies's report describes craft brewer BrewDog claiming a punk ethos and facing accusations of hypocrisy after forcing a family-run pub to rename itself. theguardian.com
- 3Short for punk rocker, a player or fan of punk rock; also a member of the punk movement, or someone who dresses in punk style.
He has been a punk since high school and still drums in two bands.
Every punk in the city seemed to turn up for the reunion show.
UsageFor people it takes a and a plural: a punk, two punks, sometimes written punx.
Note
Being one can be a claim to authenticity; in Nick Hornby's High Fidelity (1995) the narrator, feeling a fraud, likens himself to people who shaved their heads and said they had been punks before punk was even thought of.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Nick Hornby wrote High Fidelity, first published in 1995. en.wikipedia.org
- The narrator feels fraudulent and compares himself to people who shaved their heads and claimed to have been punks before punk existed. en.wiktionary.org
- 4A person regarded with contempt as worthless, weak, or cowardly.
To the men who ran the neighborhood, he was just some punk nobody would miss.
She told him he was a punk who would never amount to anything.
UsageOften just a punk or some punk; just sharpens the contempt.
Similarloser, bum, nobody, lowlife, wimp
Note
The insult may have started in the tinder box: the rotten wood used as tinder came to stand for anything worthless by 1869 and for an undesirable person by 1908, though the line of descent is uncertain. It carries offhand contempt, and just sharpens it, as Hemingway's "just a punk... a nobody" shows in Winner Take Nothing (1933).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The insult possibly derives from punk meaning rotten wood used as tinder, through the sense 'anything worthless', attested by 1869, and 'undesirable person', attested by 1908; the derivation is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- Ernest Hemingway wrote Winner Take Nothing, first published in 1933. api.pageplace.de
- The abbreviated quotation accurately reproduces words spoken by the narrator, Roger, in 'The Mother of a Queen', included in Winner Take Nothing. fadedpage.com
- 5The rebellious youth movement and culture linked to punk rock, including its typical style of dress, such as leather, metal studs, ripped clothes and slogans.
For her, punk meant questioning every rule her parents and teachers handed down.
Zines and squats were as much a part of punk as the records were.
- 6A small-time criminal, especially a teenager or other young person who breaks the law.
The shop owner chased the punk who had grabbed cash from the register.
Neighborhood punks had been smashing mailboxes all summer.
Note
The word is often hurled straight at someone as a taunt: a 1908 New York Times report has a prisoner admitting he shouted punk at others, and it is the word Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan reaches for in Dirty Harry (1971). Beside hoodlum and hooligan it adds youth and scorn; it is tough talk, never a neutral word for an offender.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- A 1908 New York Times report records a prisoner admitting that he shouted 'punk' at others. en.wiktionary.org
- Clint Eastwood plays Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), and Callahan uses 'punk' as a taunt. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meanings
- 7To play a prank or practical joke on someone.
The radio hosts love to punk callers with fake contest prizes.
His roommates punked him by filling his car with balloons.
UsageCommon passive patterns include get punked and be punked.
Note
Pranks are the gentle end of this word: the verb owes its spread to the American television show Punk'd (2003), and it is far tamer than the insults that share its spelling. It is most at home in the passive, as when diners in Becky Hughes's 2023 report on a New York steakhouse wondered whether they were being punked.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- The prank sense was popularized by Punk'd. en.wiktionary.org
- Punk'd is an American television series that first aired in 2003. en.wikipedia.org
- Becky Hughes's report about a New York steakhouse appeared in 2023. en.wiktionary.org
- The report quoted a diner wondering whether the diners were being punked. businesstimes.com.sg
- 8To push someone around or beat them so thoroughly, often in a sports contest, that they are left humiliated.
You can't let some rookie punk you on your own court.
The defending champs got punked at home, losing by thirty points to a team nobody expected much from.
UsageOften passive: the team got punked at home. Context shows whether it means beaten or pranked.
Similarhumiliate, embarrass, thrash, trounce
Note
American sports slang, mocking and casual, heard on courts, in locker rooms and on sports radio rather than in formal writing. The humiliation is the point: a big player who bullies a smaller defender all game has punked him.
- 9
- 10To adapt or decorate something in the style of the punk movement, often with up or out.
The band likes to punk up old folk songs with distorted guitars.
The stylist punked out his hair with tall spikes and a streak of green.
Note
The verb reaches from a haircut to a whole culture: Dana Stabenow's A Cold Day for Murder (1992) gives a young woman punked hair, David Nichols's book The Go-Betweens describes "punked up" versions of pop songs, and in Michael Croland's Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! (2016) Yidcore sets out to punk up Jewish culture.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Dana Stabenow wrote A Cold Day for Murder, published in 1992. newtoncompton.com
- The novel describes a young woman with punked hair. en.wiktionary.org
- David Nichols's The Go-Betweens describes “punked up” versions of pop songs. en.wiktionary.org
- Michael Croland wrote Oy Oy Oy Gevalt!, first published in 2016. bloomsbury.com
- Croland's book describes Yidcore being inspired to punk up Jewish culture. en.wiktionary.org
- 11Thuggish or criminal in character or behavior.
Since dropping out, he's been running with a punk crowd that has already robbed two gas stations.
The detective had no patience for the punk swagger of the teenagers he picked up.
Similarthuggish, criminal, delinquent
Oppositelaw-abiding
- 12Cowardly: lacking the courage to face danger, trouble, or a challenge.
He talked big all week, then pulled a punk move and never showed up for the fight.
He was too punk to say it to her face, so he posted it from a fake account.
Similarcowardly, gutless, chicken, spineless
Oppositebrave, courageous, bold
Note
The adjective is chiefly heard in African American Vernacular English, and it can fuse into punk-ass. Damon Young, writing in 2018, uses it to call the president of the United States a coward behind all his tough talk and bluster. It is a fighting word; in careful writing, cowardly is the safe choice.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The writer was Damon Young; the article was published on August 4, 2018. en.wikiquote.org
- The passage calls the United States president a coward despite his tough talk and bluster. en.wikiquote.org
- 13A slow-burning stick resembling stick incense, used to light wicks or fuses, such as those on fireworks.
Holding the punk at arm's length, she touched it to the fuse and stepped back.
The fireworks stand sold punks by the bundle, along with lighters and sparklers.
Note
Where the tinder is a material, this is an object you can count: a punk, a bundle of punks. It holds a slow coal rather than a flame, which is the point; in Jack London's The Road (1907) a cell-mate's punk smolders for hours, and in Shawn Shiflett's Hidden Place (2004) a punk lights a firework's fuse.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- A punk maintains a smouldering coal rather than a flame. gutenberg.org
- Jack London wrote The Road, first published in 1907. en.wikipedia.org
- In The Road, the narrator's cell-mate makes a punk that can smoulder for hours. gutenberg.org
- Shawn Shiflett wrote Hidden Place, published in 2004. akashicbooks.com
- In Hidden Place, a punk is used to light a firework's fuse. en.wiktionary.org
- 14Any material used as tinder to start fires, such as agaric, dried wood, or touchwood, but especially wood changed by certain fungi.
Campers learn to look inside fallen logs for dry punk when the kindling is damp.
She struck the flint over a pinch of punk until a thin curl of smoke rose.
Note
English first records the tinder word around 1680, in writing about Native American practices; it probably comes from Unami punkw, "dust", though an altered spunk, "tinder", has also been suggested. An early report on colonial Virginia to the Royal Society traced it to the inner part of growths on oak trees. It may also be where the "worthless person" insult began.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- The tinder sense is first attested around 1680 in accounts of Native American practices. en.wiktionary.org
- Unami punkw, meaning dust, is the probable source. en.wiktionary.org
- An alteration of spunk, meaning tinder, is an alternative proposal. en.wiktionary.org
- A Virginia report published in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions describes punk as the inside of an oak growth. en.wiktionary.org
- The worthless-person insult may derive from the tinder sense. en.wiktionary.org
- 15
- 16Inexperienced; new to something and not yet practiced at it.
Similarinexperienced, green, raw, unpracticed
Oppositeexperienced, seasoned, practiced
- 17An amateur, looked down on as unskilled or of little worth.
Similaramateur
Oppositepro, professional, expert
- 18An offensive term for a gay man, especially one regarded as effeminate or passive.
- 19Any person, especially a male friend or comrade.
"Get over here, you old punk," he laughed, pulling his brother into a hug.
"Good to see you, you old punk," he laughed, pulling his college roommate into a hug.
Similarfellow
Note
A rare, joking turn of the "worthless person" meaning: the contempt softens into teasing between friends, the way pals trade mock insults, and fellow is its plain equivalent. It works only between people close enough to hear the joke; aimed at a stranger, the older sting comes back.
- 20Unwell or sickly; not in good health.
After the long flight he felt punk for a couple of days.
I've felt kind of punk since Tuesday, so I'm skipping the gym until this cold clears up.
UsageOften used after feel: I feel kind of punk today.
Similarunwell, sick, lousy, sickly, poorly
Note
The word sits most naturally after feel or look: in Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt (1922) the hero, dressing, says "I feel kind of punk this morning" and blames the heavy banana fritters of the night before. It is American and colloquial, a word for an off day rather than a diagnosis; in formal writing, unwell says the same.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Sinclair Lewis wrote Babbitt, first published in 1922. en.wikipedia.org
- Babbitt says the quoted words while dressing and blames the previous evening's banana fritters. gutenberg.org
- 21A woman who has sex for money; a female prostitute.
The watchman hauled a drunken punk and her customer before the magistrate at dawn.
My lord, she may be a punk; for many of them are neither maid, widow, nor wife.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”Similarprostitute
Note
A word of the seventeenth-century stage and satire: Shakespeare uses it in Measure for Measure, and in Wycherley's Love in a Wood (1672) Sir Simon insults Lady Flippant by asking if she is a fireship, a punk. It is historical now, met in old plays, and Anthony Bertram's Like the Phoenix (1936) sets it in a long string beside strumpet, harlot and trull.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- The prostitute sense occurs in seventeenth-century drama and satire. en.wiktionary.org
- Shakespeare uses punk in Measure for Measure. folgerpedia.folger.edu
- William Wycherley's play was first performed in March 1671 but first published in 1672. en.wiktionary.org
- Sir Simon addresses Lady Flippant and asks whether she is a fireship, a punk. gutenberg.org
- Like the Phoenix contains punk in a long list including strumpet, harlot and trull. en.wiktionary.org
- 22Any of the science-fiction genres whose names end in -punk, such as steampunk, dieselpunk and solarpunk, typically exploring how a particular technology, often retro or imagined, shapes society.
- 23A fan of one of the -punk genres of fiction, such as steampunk, or a person who dresses in the style that goes with it.
- 24A boy or younger man kept as a sexual partner, often by force, by an older man, especially in prison or among hobos.
- 25In circus slang, a young animal or worker that has not yet been trained.
- 26To act as a pimp, finding customers for prostitutes and living off their earnings.
- 27To rape someone anally by force, especially in prison.
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Origins
Of uncertain origin. Possibly from punk (“rotten wood dust used as tinder”, recorded since 1678), extended to anything worthless (by 1869) and then to any undesirable person (by 1908). The milder 21st-century verb sense “to prank” was popularized by the American television show Punk'd (2003).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- The origin is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- A proposed origin connects the tinder sense, recorded since 1678, with worthless things by 1869 and undesirable people by 1908. en.wiktionary.org
- Punk'd popularized the milder verb sense meaning to prank. en.wiktionary.org
- Punk'd is an American television show that began in 2003. en.wikipedia.org
Of unclear origin; first recorded around 1680 in writings about Native American practices. It probably comes from Unami punkw (“dust”), though it may instead be an altered form of spunk (“tinder”); compare funk (“rotten wood”).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts
- The origin of this sense is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- This sense was first recorded around 1680 in writings about Native American practices. en.wiktionary.org
- Unami is the probable source language. en.wiktionary.org
- The Unami word punkw means dust. en.wiktionary.org
- An alteration of spunk is a proposed alternative origin. en.wiktionary.org
- Spunk means tinder. en.wiktionary.org
- Funk has the meaning rotten wood and is cited for comparison. en.wiktionary.org