dunk

Etymology

From Pennsylvania German dunke, from Middle High German dunken, from Old High German dunkōn (“to dip, submerge, dunk”), from Proto-West Germanic *þunkōn (“to make wet”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *þunkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to moisten, wet”). Cognate with German tunken (“to dunk”), Latin tingō (“to wet, moisten”), Ancient Greek τέγγω (téngō, “to wet, moisten”). Related to taint, tincture, tint.

verb

1. To submerge briefly in a liquid.
   I like to dunk my donut in my apple cider.
2. To set down carelessly.
   Parents shouldn't just dunk their kids in front of the TV.
3. (transitive, intransitive, basketball) To put the ball directly downward through the hoop while grabbing onto the rim with power.
   The center spun quickly and dunked the ball with authority.
4. (intransitive, Internet slang) To put down on social media [+ on (object)].

noun

1. The act or instance of dunking, particularly in basketball.
   The point guard threaded a pass with pinpoint precision to the power forward for an easy dunk.
   To rattle the rats to the point where their stress response remained demonstrably hyperactive, the researchers exposed the animals to four weeks of varying stressors: moderate electric shocks, being encaged with dominant rats, prolonged dunks in water. August 18, 2009, Natalie Angier, “Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop”, in New York Times