JUNK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does junk mean? 

• JUNK (noun)
  The noun JUNK has 2 senses:

1. the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

2. any of various Chinese boats with a high poop and lugsails

  Familiarity information: JUNK used as a noun is rare.

• JUNK (verb)
  The verb JUNK has 1 sense:

1. dispose of (something useless or old)

  Familiarity information: JUNK used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• JUNK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

debris; detritus; dust; junk; rubble

Hypernyms ("junk" is a kind of...):

rubbish; scrap; trash (worthless material that is to be disposed of)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "junk"):

slack (dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve)

Derivation:

junk (dispose of (something useless or old))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various Chinese boats with a high poop and lugsails

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("junk" is a kind of...):

boat (a small vessel for travel on water)

Meronyms (parts of "junk"):

lug; lugsail (a sail with four corners that is hoisted from a yard that is oblique to the mast)

• JUNK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they junk    ... he / she / it junks   
Past simple: junked   
Past participle: junked   
-ing form: junking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Dispose of (something useless or old)

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

junk; scrap; trash

Context example:

scrap your old computer

Hypernyms (to "junk" is one way to...):

cast aside; cast away; cast out; chuck out; discard; dispose; fling; put away; throw away; throw out; toss; toss away; toss out (throw or cast away)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

junk (the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up)

 Context examples 

Patients underwent brain scans to detect inflammation and the junk proteins.

(Inflammation in the brain linked to several forms of dementia, University of Cambridge)

Cut me a junk o' that, says he, for I haven't no knife and hardly strength enough, so be as I had.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The telescope's primary task is to monitor space junk to anticipate potential collisions with the Earth.

(High tech Russian telescope to start operating in Brazil, Agência Brasil)

In fat rats with grossly dysregulated gut health, thanks to being fed junk food, probiotics positively changed the bacterial make-up in their digestive tract and benefitted brain function, preventing spatial memory loss.

(Probiotics May Not Always Be A Silver Bullet for Better Health, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Australian scientists say a powerful ground-based laser targeting space junk will be ready for use next year.

(Australia Developing Lasers to Track, Destroy Space Junk, VOA)

“Salt junk and weevilly biscuits, with a rib of a tough Barbary ox when the tenders come in. You would have your spare diet there, sir.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We were given a suit of sailors’ togs each, a barrel of water, two casks, one of junk and one of biscuits, and a compass.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Only now are scientists realising that transposons are not junk at all but actually play an important role in the evolutionary process, and in altering gene expression and the physical characteristics of plants.

(Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops, University of Cambridge)

To give your child a nutritious diet: • Make half of what is on your child's plate fruits and vegetables • Choose healthy sources of protein, such as lean meat, nuts, and eggs • Serve whole-grain breads and cereals because they are high in fiber. Reduce refined grains. • Broil, grill, or steam foods instead of frying them • Limit fast food and junk food • Offer water or milk instead of sugary fruit drinks and sodas

(Child Nutrition, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

FTD is a family of different conditions resulting from the build-up of several abnormal ‘junk’ proteins in the brain.

(Inflammation in the brain linked to several forms of dementia, University of Cambridge)