Main definitions of bunk in English

: bunk¹ bunk² bunk³

bunk¹

noun

A narrow shelflike bed, typically one of two or more arranged one on top of the other.
- ‘Some of the crew went off-shift, stringing up hybrid bunks and hammocks belowdecks, the others continued working.’
- ‘Inside it's designed as the cabin of a ship: the bunks used to be hammocks and, even when they changed to something more solid, they were famous for having three tiers.’
- ‘Few pirates were in there, snoozing deeply in their bunks or hammocks.’
- ‘They can decide together what would be a fair way of assigning responsibilities for keeping the cabin clean, or even how the bunks are arranged.’
- ‘Cabins are roomy, with double bottom bunks and handbasin.’
- ‘Be sure crossties are under the mattress foundation of each bed and that they are secured in place even if bunks are used as twin beds.’
- ‘The beds were bunks three tiers high and without mattresses.’
- ‘It was a little more than twice the size of my room in the apartment, and fit four beds - two bunks - easily.’
- ‘Although it was converted from an old prison, the luxurious beds are far from bunks.’
- ‘Others are the height of luxury - sheds with windows, built in bunks and primus stoves, radios and easy chairs.’
- ‘In lock-down means that he has been in a small 8 x 10 room (that's in feet), double bunks with a toilet and a sink for two years.’
- ‘The bunks are laid two high in a row of four against one wall, while along the other wall are several small desks and tables, some with console screens, one with personal computer and one with a food dispenser.’
- ‘She later returned to Umm Qasr to provide a base for Royal Marines camped out in the desert - her showers, comfortable bunks and good food proved a welcome respite for the troops.’
- ‘The band, who were all asleep at the time (very rock 'n' roll), were thrown from their bunks and some suffered minor injuries.’
- ‘The building accommodated 88 people in two and three-tiered bunks in small rooms with no fire extinguishers or sprinkler system.’
- ‘He built himself a rough bach and fitted it out with four bunks, making it an ‘open house’ for men in need, old or young, drunk or sober.’
- ‘And interestingly, they've all got their names on their bunks which is extremely useful for an archaeologist.’
- ‘He began his sentence in the Bendigo police station cells, where up to 18 prisoners were locked in an area with bunks for five or six people.’
- ‘Although I had only booked for two, the cabin had four bunks.’
- ‘He first checked the bunks but they were all empty.’
berth, cot, bunk bed, bed
View synonyms

verb

[no object]North American

Sleep in a bunk or improvised bed, typically in shared quarters.
‘they bunk together in the dormitory’
- ‘The Queenslanders were sleeping in cars or bunking in caravan parks.’
- ‘‘Sure,’ I said, ‘I probably should know what you do if we're going to be bunking together.’’
- ‘Baker, Pease, Broadwater, and Lieutenant Charles B. Schofield bunked together in another tent.’
- ‘Karen and I went to West Texas State University together, and I bunked with Karen and Lisa my rookie year on tour.’
- ‘We bunked together at a history convention early in our careers.’
- ‘We were passing a line of small log huts on a hillside, reproductions of the miserable quarters that Washington's army had bunked in, and Mwai pointed at them.’
- ‘Inmates had their own cells, an improvement over bunking with another con.’
- ‘My sisters giggled to me as we lay in the dark, bunked in a guest room together: ‘You're never gonna believe what Dad thinks…’’
- ‘We grew up in a three-bedroomed bungalow, with three kids bunking together in each of the two kids' bedrooms.’
- ‘If you would have told me a year ago when you and I bunked together at your parent's house that we would have been friends now, I wouldn't believe you for a minute.’
- ‘You'll carry your own gear as you pedal a hybrid bicycle through the mango orchards, cashew groves, and savannas of the Saloum River valley, bunking in small hotels and local villagers' homes along the way.’
- ‘I know firsthand it's true that warriors like Charley are tormented in their dreams and cry out in their sleep as they re-fight their battles; yes that I know from bunking with him.’
- ‘The three fledgling entrepreneurs immediately moved in, bunking on the floor in sleeping bags; they began construction of a recording studio on the adjacent land.’
- ‘Spend nights exaggerating your catch over Scotch and bunking in vintage 1920s Pullman cars.’
- ‘Guests bunked at the swank Las Brisas and partied across the Pacific resort.’
- ‘As soon as we landed, we dropped our stuff off at the Guard base where we bunked and then picked up rental cars and hit the dance clubs.’
- ‘They bunked at Meadowood resort for a week, then headed for Pebble Beach for golfing.’
- ‘One night a week, sometimes two, I bunked at Winthrop's hovel finding that a minor improvement to a second career in local train-travel.’
- ‘You know, you never mentioned that I'm bunking with one of the girls.’
- ‘After bunking for 10 years in a two-bedroom condominium that doubled as his business office, Philip was ready to trade breakfast meetings in his pajamas for a more refined style of living.’

Origin

Mid 18th century of unknown origin; perhaps related to bunker.

Pronunciation

bunk

/bʌŋk/

Main definitions of bunk in English

: bunk¹ bunk² bunk³

bunk²

noun

mass nouninformal

Nonsense.
‘anyone with a brain cell would never believe such bunk’
- ‘We like to believe that history is bunk because we don't like being bound by it.’
- ‘That he believes his own bunk is the best joke of all.’
- ‘Certainly there is as much bunk out there that needs to be unmasked as nonsense or lies.’
- ‘These people have abandoned their own religion as so much bunk, but have enthusiastically embraced Buddhism, which they imperfectly understand.’
- ‘Namely, that this global warming, de-forestation and pollution stuff is all bunk, the planet has never been in finer fettle etc.’
- ‘In an often-quoted remark, Henry Ford, the great captain of industry, said, ‘History is more or less bunk.’’
- ‘Interestingly if you search for it online, pretty much the first thing you get is a long page by earthquake experts explaining precisely why it's total bunk.’
- ‘I've said before that I think the supply-siders who argue that lowering our marginal tax rates will raise revenue are full of bunk.’
- ‘Precisely, the governor said that multiculturalism is bunk.’
- ‘On every other subject, they assure us all that ‘right is right and wrong is wrong’ and that cultural relativism is bunk from the elites.’
- ‘Does this mean I think all Eastern medicine is bunk?’
- ‘All of this bunk is making its way around Nassau.’
- ‘That's been shown to be complete bunk, as evidenced by the fact that Canada won last year's World Championship and the gold medal in Salt Lake City.’
- ‘Most trendspotting articles - especially those appearing in newsless August - are bunk.’
- ‘Foretelling the future through astrology is bunk, right?’
- ‘And I still have no idea whether it's total bunk or not.’
- ‘The theory that this drifter that's living in his car sneaks in - and this garage door theory, I think is a bunch of bunk.’
- ‘In a democracy, this sort of offensive bunk needs to be tolerated.’
- ‘Proportional representation, for reasons on which I have ranted extensively in this house and elsewhere, is bunk.’
rubbish, balderdash, gibberish, claptrap, blarney, guff, blather, blether
View synonyms

Origin

Early 20th century abbreviation of bunkum.

Pronunciation

bunk

/bʌŋk/

Main definitions of bunk in English

: bunk¹ bunk² bunk³

bunk³

verb

[no object]informalBritish bunk off

Abscond or play truant from school or work.
‘he bunked off school all week’
- ‘It is just really to keep a high profile in case pupils who do not want to go to school think it's all gone quiet so they can bunk off again.’
- ‘About 50,000 children in England bunk off school each day, despite the fact that millions of pounds have been spent on initiatives including town-centre truancy sweeps.’
- ‘He was always trying to encourage me to bunk off and go hang out in the caff at the park, but I being the goody-goody that I was always refused convinced I'd get caught.’
- ‘Teachers in a city with the second worst truancy record in the UK have accepted that the only way they can ensure pupils do not bunk off to watch matches is to show the games in school.’
- ‘Clarkson, then 17, had to bunk off from her A-levels, which angered her mother.’
- ‘I couldn't bunk off from classes because if I had been in school I would be spotted by everyone.’
- ‘No word yet on whether their own children will bunk off that Swiss finishing school or French lycée.’
- ‘Chris Tarrant puts crew members on the spot with a number of pertinent questions, including how they managed to bunk off so many lectures without getting thrown out of college.’
- ‘Reality also shows there are many reasons why kids bunk off.’
- ‘They were mostly away on the mainland, I later learnt, and those in school locally didn't bunk off.’
- ‘Management sometimes resists home working because they believe there is too much temptation to bunk off.’
- ‘Gerry and Sewell bunk off school, because they see no point in it.’
- ‘Honestly, it is well worth bunking off work altogether on these occasions, since the pleasure of watching the artless production economies more than repays the rows I get for missed deadlines.’
- ‘Working in pairs, education welfare and police officers drive around their designated patches looking for youngsters bunking off in popular haunts.’
- ‘The warning came as Essex officials announced that a truancy sweep yesterday netted 26 children bunking off in just two hours.’
- ‘I couldn't do it, and found myself (like many others) bunking off to have at least a couple of drags.’
- ‘Troublesome teens aged 14 to 18 land up in the prison's classrooms - many with a pretty negative attitude to education having bunked off for most of their school career.’
- ‘I bunked off from marriage like I bunked off from school.’
- ‘He could have feigned a headache maybe and bunked off for the afternoon and saved us all a bit of bother.’
- ‘But she said some children would always try to bunk off school and it was important to make them realise the seriousness of the situation, otherwise they would just keep on doing it.’
play truant from, truant from, stay away from, not go to, be absent from, skip, avoid, shirk
View synonyms

Phrases

do a bunk

informal

Make a hurried or furtive departure or escape.
- ‘The rules say you can work in pairs in the evenings after 8 p.m. so if you get into trouble, one of you can run interference while your oppo does a bunk to safety.’
- ‘Many of them had to do a bunk as the Nazis became more powerful and they ended up in Hollywood.’
- ‘She came to Britain in 1795 to meet her future husband (later George IV) who took one look, did a bunk and ordered a large brandy.’
- ‘Peter Chapman remembers: ‘He put two of them in hospital - the other one did a bunk.’’
- ‘Kahlil's stepfather, the man she did a bunk with, never seems to have warmed to the boy.’
- ‘He revealed details of the blackmail to churchwardens and members of the parochial church council and told them he was gay, before doing a bunk on police advice.’
- ‘Fans of Twins Peaks may remember an episode where James Hurley and Donna Heywood meet at the Roadhouse before doing a bunk as things at home develop into a higher state of bedlam.’
- ‘The English agent even had the cheek to send an e-mail saying he was doing a bunk and planned to emigrate to Italy.’
- ‘The boss came out, said there was a police officer inside, and urged me to do a bunk or get prison.’
- ‘He did a bunk in mid-December (just before an ICAC inquiry into the controversial Orange Grove affair resumed) and hasn't been seen or heard from since.’