plunk

noun

1. A brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface.

   “They listened and could hear the steady plunk, plunk of an axe somewhere far above them.”

2. (informal)A (heavy) blow or hit.
3. (US, archaic, obsolete, slang)A dollar.

   “Den I gives him a five-plunk piece, and he gins me the shange.”

   “Dere's a loidy here […] dat's got a necklace of jools what's wort' a hundred t'ousand plunks. Honest, boss. A hundred t'ousand plunks.”

4. (obsolete, rare, slang)A large sum of money.

adv

1. (informal, not-comparable)With a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface.
2. (broadly, informal, not-comparable)Directly, exactly, precisely.

   “"Bang!" went a gun behind me. I heard the whistle of shot. Something stung me sharply on the cheek, and I fell forward on my face, giving myself up for lost. […] "Oh, ye will never dee o' a chairge o' guid saft garden peas!" said the daft lassie, scornfully. "Maybe no," retorted I, for my choler was raised. "They are a' vera weel in broth, but if you got them plunk on the jaw, wi' a strong chairge o' powder ahint them, they might bring the water to your e'en as well as mine."”

   “[I]t's one thing to be buried with all your pleasures, like Sardanapalus; it's another to be buried right plunk in front of them, where you can see them.”

intj

1. (informal)Often reduplicated: used to represent a brief, dull sound, such as the sound of a string of a stringed instrument being plucked, or the thud of something landing on a surface.

   “Look at me; is my eye dilated? do you notice a quiver anywhere? Feel my pulse: plunk—plunk—plunk—same as if I were asleep.”

   “It was the noise of rowing, hard, fast rowing, the noise of two pairs of oars in a native boat, pin oars, and the slap, slap of a boat's bows into the short waves. She knew that noise well. It came nearer and nearer. It passed close by her. Plunk, plunk. She could hear the splash of the oars so clearly that she almost thought she could see the boat in the dark.”

   “John, swinging the axe, plunk, plunk, plunk, was chopping the thinner branches all to the same length.”

verb

1. (informal, transitive)To move (something) with a sudden push.

   “The moving galley's bow was plunking them [oars] back through their own oar-holes, and I could hear no end of a shindy in the decks below.”

2. (figuratively, informal, transitive)Chiefly followed by down or out: to pay (money); to plank.

   “Just let them tell him a thing is pretty and fashionable, and Matthew plunks his money down for it.”

3. (informal, transitive)To pluck and quickly release (a string of a stringed instrument); also, to play (a stringed instrument) by plucking strings; to play (a piano, etc.) by striking keys; or, to play (a note or tune) on such an instrument.

   “Your bass teacher loathed you for loathing the instrument. Every lesson was the same: You would plunk out a few notes, and he would stop you. "Did you practice?" / "Some," you would say. / "You have to practice." / "I know." / Practicing was the most boring thing you had ever done. Plunk plunk plunk (rest). Plunk plunk plunk (rest). That was pretty much how the double bass part went in every piece of music your teacher assigned you. He was right, you never practiced.”

   “Her friends were boggled by how long it took her to plunk out simple texts, but Kate says she learned skills her peers have never had to master.”

4. (also, informal, reflexive, transitive)Often followed by down: to drop, set, or throw (something, or oneself) abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing, making a dull sound; to plump.

   “Enrique plunked his money down on the counter with a sigh and bellied up to the bar.”

   “Exhausted, she plunked herself on the sofa.”

5. (US, informal, transitive)To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.

   “Say, I jes' jumped d' bar, an' d' way I plunked [hit] dat bloke was outa sight. See? Dat's right! In d' jaw!”

6. (US, informal, transitive)To hit or injure (someone or something); also, to shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.

   “The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.”

7. (informal, intransitive)To make a brief, dull sound, such as the thud of something landing on a surface; to thud.
8. (figuratively, informal, intransitive)Followed by for: to choose, to opt; to plump.
9. (informal, intransitive)To pluck and quickly release a string of a musical instrument; also, to play a stringed instrument by plucking strings; to play a piano, etc., by striking keys; or, to play a note or tune on such an instrument.

   “[D]eafening was what H. V. W. would call the din from the rock stars' dressing rooms where electric guitars whined, drums rattled, sitars plunked; and marijuana made the air a tender blue.”

10. (informal, intransitive)Often followed by down: to drop, land, or set abruptly and/or heavily into or on to a surface or some other thing with a dull sound; to plump down.
11. (informal, intransitive, obsolete)Of a raven: to croak.
12. (Scotland, informal, transitive)To be absent from (school) without permission; to be a truant.
13. (Scotland, informal, intransitive)To play truant.

    “Unless we repented and humbly begged for mercy … I might as well tell lies, break crockery, kick the cat, plunk from school, and enjoy my transgressions.”

name

1. A surname.