Thunk Definition

thŭngk
thunked, thunking, thunks
noun
An abrupt, muffled sound, as of an ax hitting a tree trunk.
Webster's New World
(computing, functional programming) A delayed computation.
Wiktionary

(computing) In the Scheme programming language, a function or procedure taking no arguments.

Wiktionary

(computing) A mapping of machine data from one system-specific form to another, usually for compatibility reasons, such as from 16-bit addresses to 32-bit to allow a 16-bit program to run on a 32-bit operating system.

Wiktionary
verb
To make such a sound.
Webster's New World
Webster's New World

(humorous, nonstandard) Past participle of think.

Who would have thunk those guys would have a problem with a little lie?
Wiktionary
To strike against something, without breakage, making a "thunk" sound.
I was thunked on the head by his stick.
Wiktionary
interjection
Representing the sound of the impact of a heavy object striking another and coming to an immediate standstill, with neither object being broken by the impact.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Thunk

Noun

Singular:
thunk
Plural:
thunks

Origin of Thunk

  • Claimed by the inventors to be from the supposed past tense, being coined when they realised after much thought (whence "thunk") that the type of an argument in ALGOL 60 could be predetermined at compile time; not, as is sometimes claimed, from the interjection, being the supposed sound made by data hitting the stack or an accumulator

    From Wiktionary

  • By analogy with past tenses and past participles ending in "-unk", such as drunk and sunk

    From Wiktionary

  • Onomatopoeic

    From Wiktionary

  • Imitative

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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