Etymology From earlier meaning "old refuse from boats and ships", from Middle English junk, jounke, jonk, joynk (“an old cable or rope”, nautical term), sometimes cut into bits and used as caulking; of uncertain origin; perhaps related to join, joint, juncture. Often compared to Middle English junk, jonk, jonke, junck (“a rush; basket made of rushes”), from Old French jonc, from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”); however, the Oxford English Dictionary finds "no evidence of connexion".
Usually Miscellaneous items of little value, especially discarded or unwanted items.
This shed is full of junk – will you help me sort it out?
She needs to find a better place to keep her junk [= belongings].
2 more examples
What a piece of junk!1977, George Lucas, Star Wars: A New Hope, spoken by Luke Skywalker:
In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
2
Usually Material or resources of poor quality or low value, especially resources that lack commercial value.
junk food
junk fish; junk trees
3
Usually Nonsense; gibberish.
The student put down junk for answers just to finish his homework more quickly.
4
Slang, Usually Any narcotic drug, especially heroin.
The poor fellow took so much junk into his system he could only weather the greater proportion of his day in that chair with the lamp burning at noon, but in the morning he was magnificent.1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC:
Trace a line of goose pimples up the thin young arm. Slide the needle in and push the bulb watching the junk hit him all over. Move right in with the shit and suck junk through all the hungry young cells.1966 [1961], William S. Burroughs, The Soft Machine (The Nova Trilogy), New York: Grove Press, page 7:
1 more example
Ah love nothing (except junk), ah hate nothing (except forces that prevent me getting any) and ah fear nothing (except not scoring).1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 21:
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Slang, Usually The genitalia, especially of a male.
I'm talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk / Boys tryin' to touch my junk, junk / Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk2009, “Tik Tok”, performed by Kesha:
But what to do about a kid who flashes his privates at your child? And worse, how do you make sure your kid does not reciprocate? That's exactly the dilemma one mom faced when she learned that her 5-year-old neighbor had flashed his "junk" at her two sons and then made them swear not to tell.2019 April 18, Genny Glassman, “Parent Torn After Discovering 5-Year-Old Neighbor 'Flashed' Kids & Told Them to Keep It a Secret”, in CafeMom:
1 more example
Got a spot on the voice, I'm a neo punk / Old ladies cum when I flash my junk2023, “Neo Punk”, in Every Loser, performed by Iggy Pop:
My physician has ordered me three pounds of minced salt-junk at every meal .c. 1851-1852, James Russell Lowell, Leaves from My Journal in Italy and Elsewhere
7
Usually Pieces of old cable or cordage, used for making gaskets, mats, swabs, etc., and when picked to pieces, forming oakum for filling the seams of ships.
8
Dated, Usually A fragment of any solid substance; a thick piece; a chunk.
Dear Uncle Sam pervides fer his, An' gives a good-sized junk to all1848, [James Russell Lowell], “(please specify the page)”, in Homer Wilbur [pseudonym], editor, Melibœus-Hipponax. The Biglow Papers, […], Cambridge, Mass.: George Nichols, →OCLC:
Then he lay quiet for a little, and then, pulling out a stick of tobacco, begged me to cut him a quid. “Cut me a junk o’ that,” says he, “for I haven’t no knife and hardly strength enough, so be as I had. […]”1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
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Human sciences, Philosophy, SciencesUsually An entity with no whole; every part is itself a proper part of something larger.
Etymology From earlier meaning "old refuse from boats and ships", from Middle English junk, jounke, jonk, joynk (“an old cable or rope”, nautical term), sometimes cut into bits and used as caulking; of uncertain origin; perhaps related to join, joint, juncture. Often compared to Middle English junk, jonk, jonke, junck (“a rush; basket made of rushes”), from Old French jonc, from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”); however, the Oxford English Dictionary finds "no evidence of connexion".
Informal To find something for very little money (meaning derived from the term junkshop)
(On Facebook, a record collector wrote:) "The newest addition to my Annette Hanshaw collection, I junked this beautiful flawless E-copy within walking distance from my house."
3
Informal To consume junk food, mainly at a fast-food restaurant.
Etymology From Portuguese junco with reinforcement from Dutch jonk, from Arabic جُنْك (junk), from Malay jong, جوڠ, from Javanese ꦗꦺꦴꦁ (jong), from Old Javanese joṅ (“seagoing ship”), probably from Proto-Mon-Khmer *d₂luuŋ ~ *d₂luŋ ~ *d₂luəŋ ~ *d₂ləŋ (“boat”). Doublet of djong.
It was a vessel of about seventy tons burthen, and shaped something like a Chinese junk.1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 160: