Definition of "funk"

funk¹

/fʌŋk/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural funks
1. (countable) Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.
  Quotations
  The foulest stench is in the air; the funk of 40,000 years and grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom.
  1982, “Thriller”, in Rod Temperton (lyrics), Quincy Jones (music), Thriller, performed by Michael Jackson (featuring Vincent Price), Epic Records
2. (uncountable, music) A style of music derived from 1960s soul music, with elements of rock and other styles, characterized by a prominent bass guitar, dance-friendly sound, a strong emphasis on the downbeat, and much syncopation.
verb
third-person singular simple present funks, present participle funking, simple past and past participle funked
1. (intransitive) To emit an offensive smell; to stink.
2. (transitive) To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke.
  Quotations
  He funks Basketia and her son to death
  c. 1709, William King, The Furmentary
  Funking a cobbler – that is, blowing smoke into his stall; smoking cigars at divans and club houses; […]
  2012, M. C. Beaton, Diana the Huntress
3. (euphemistic, slang) Fuck (the taboo swear word)

funk²

/fʌŋk/

noun
plural funks
1. (obsolete) Touchwood, punk, tinder.

funk³

/fʌŋk/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural funks
1. (countable) Mental depression.
2. (uncountable) A state of fear or panic, especially cowardly.
  Quotations
  [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]
  1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], part II
  —A woful lunatic, Mulligan said. Were you in a funk?
  1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], part I [Telemachia], page 4
  Holmes was coming upstairs. Holmes would burst open the door. Holmes would say, “In a funk, eh?” Holmes would get him.
  1925, Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway‎, London: The Hogarth Press
  As I left the platform, the atmosphere was tense but there was no sign of uneasiness or funk […]
  1944 (written, first published in 2015), Bob Cooney, Proud Journey
3. (countable) One who fears or panics; a coward.
  Quotations
  It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.
  1875, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style
verb
third-person singular simple present funks, present participle funking, simple past and past participle funked
1. (transitive, intransitive) To shrink from, or avoid something because of fear.
  Quotations
  He'll have funked it , when he comes to the edge , and sees nothing but mist below
  1857, Charles Kingsley, “(please specify the page)”, in Two Years Ago, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co.
  It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.
  1875, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style, The Art of Swimming in the Eton Style
  "Always wanted a go at the figure. Funked it. Shows what a man can do, given the right model. Dam' good model."
  1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, page 56
2. (transitive) To frighten; to cause to flinch.

Definition of "funk"

funk1

noun

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verb

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funk2

noun

funk3

noun

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verb

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funk¹

funk²

funk³