as in dirt
foul matter that mars the purity or cleanliness of something
I have to wash my hands; I got gunk all over them somehow
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gunk
Wash grates and filters in the sink with a sponge, using a nylon scrub-brush if needed to remove stuck-on gunk.
—
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2025
Also all the extra ridges and divots just meant more places for gunk to get stuck in.
—Wilder Davies, Bon Appétit, 6 Feb. 2025
Fire debris is washing up on L.A.’s beaches The gunk has turned up on shorelines from Malibu to Redondo Beach.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2025
The stars of this formula are upcycled makgeolli lees (a byproduct of Korean rice wine), honey, kaolin clay, and rice hull powder—which together sweep away the gunk residing in your pores, gently buff away uneven texture, and with consistent use, help brighten discoloration.
—Sarah Han, Allure, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gunk
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2025
Also all the extra ridges and divots just meant more places for gunk to get stuck in.
—Wilder Davies, Bon Appétit, 6 Feb. 2025
Fire debris is washing up on L.A.’s beaches The gunk has turned up on shorelines from Malibu to Redondo Beach.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2025
The stars of this formula are upcycled makgeolli lees (a byproduct of Korean rice wine), honey, kaolin clay, and rice hull powder—which together sweep away the gunk residing in your pores, gently buff away uneven texture, and with consistent use, help brighten discoloration.
—Sarah Han, Allure, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gunk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunk
Noun
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Sosa hopped up, dug into the dirt with his left foot and stared at Treinen.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
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The throw from second baseman Nico Hoerner was coming in just above the dirt.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The war settled into a brutal battle of attrition with limited movement along a frontline stretching for 600 miles through muck of eastern Ukraine.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2025
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The Clippers’ success lately isn’t just stemming from them making games ugly with their defense and slogging through the muck.—
Zach Harper,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Chevron also challenged the costly wetlands restoration project proposed by the parish, which involved removing large amounts of contaminated soil and filling in the swaths fragmented wetlands eroded over the last century.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2025
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The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is set to kick off its fifth season today, in Rabat, Morocco—a historic moment as the league plays its inaugural games on Moroccan soil.—
Sindiswa Mabunda,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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More than a billion gallons of coal ash slurry breached a containment pond, inundating 300 acres with toxic sludge and contaminating nearby waterways.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
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Only the Greater Los Angeles area distributed more sludge to farmers during the same period.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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As Portage residents get accustomed to a big jump in their sewer bills, the City Council is preparing to make sure developers pay more for their impact on the sewage treatment infrastructure.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2025
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The violation says some 50 gallons of raw sewage in total pumped into the water.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Soap removes sticky spills, smeared food or mud; bleach might take out the stains left once the crud is gone.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Feb. 2025
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Too much crud on the vents can also affect the performance of your air fryer.—
Emily Farris,
Bon Appétit,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Mountains of garbage are said to be visible from space and people have complained of seeing rats as big as cats in the refuse.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Apr. 2025
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But also, increasingly, in marine food chains and immense garbage patches in the oceans.—
Nina Agrawal,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gunk. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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