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n. 1. Discarded material, such as glass, rags, paper, or metal, some of which may be reused in some form. 2. Informal a. Articles that are worn-out or fit to be discarded: broken furniture and other junk in the attic. b. Cheap or shoddy material. c. Something meaningless, fatuous, or unbelievable: nothing but junk in the annual report. 3. Vulgar Slang a. The genitals. b. The buttocks. 4. Slang Heroin. 5. Hard salt beef for consumption on board a ship. tr.v. junked, junk·ing, junks To discard as useless or sell to be reused as parts; scrap. adj. 1. Cheap, shoddy, or worthless: junk jewelry. 2. Having a superficial appeal or utility, but lacking substance: "the junk issues that have dominated this year's election" (New Republic). 3. Relating to or similar to junk bonds, especially in having a high risk of default: debt of junk status. [Middle English jonk, an old cable or rope, perhaps from jonk, rush (plant of the genus Juncus, often used to make cordage), from Old French jonc, from Latin iuncus; see JONQUIL.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
