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bonk

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To strike or collide with something.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

bahngk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɑŋk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. informal

    To strike or collide with something.

noun

  1. countable

    An animal call resembling "bonk", such as the call of the pobblebonk.

  2. informaluncountable

    A condition of sudden, severe fatigue in an endurance sports event caused by glycogen depletion.

  3. informalcountable

    Any minor collision or blow.

  4. informalcountable

    A bump on the head.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To strike or collide with something.

Used this way, bonk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Casual
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Playful
Usage feel
Casual and conversational

Where it naturally appears

  • Everyday conversation
  • Social media/informal writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

world bonkjonathan bonkjohn bonkrose bonkbonk buildingbonk journalism

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • bash

    To strike heavily.

  • bop

    To strike gently or playfully.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.