zonk, int.

zonk
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zonk_int%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zonkinterjection (& noun)

## Earlier version

- zonk, int. (n.) in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the interjection zonk mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the interjection zonk. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the interjection zonk?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1940 | 0.0005
1950 | 0.0006
1960 | 0.0006
1970 | 0.0007
1980 | 0.0008
1990 | 0.0009
2000 | 0.001
2010 | 0.0009

### How is the interjection zonk pronounced?

#### British English

/zɒŋk/
zonk

#### U.S. English

/zɔŋk/
zawnk
/zɑŋk/
zahnk

### Where does the interjection zonk come from?

Earliest known use

1940s

The earliest known use of the interjection zonk is in the 1940s.

OED's earliest evidence for zonk is from 1949, in the writing of Terence Rattigan, playwright.

zonk is an imitative or expressive formation.

### Nearby entries

1. zone refiner, n. 1959–
2. zone refining, n. 1952–
3. zone therapy, n. 1915–
4. zone time, n. 1908–
5. Zonian, n. 1910–
6. zonic, adj. 1797–
7. zoning, n. a1821–
8. zonite, n. 1860–
9. zonitic, adj. 1888–
10. zonk, v. 1950–
11. zonk, int.1949–
12. zonked, adj. 1959–
13. zonkey, n. 1953–
14. zonking, adj. 1958–
15. zonky, adj. 1972–
16. zono-, comb. form
17. zonochlorite, n. 1872–
18. zonociliate, adj. 1885–
19. zonoplacental, adj. 1879–
20. zonular, adj. 1835–
21. zonule, n. 1828–

## Etymology

### Summary

An imitative or expressive formation.
Echoic.

## Meaning & use

slang.

1. 1949–
   Representing the sound of a blow or heavy impact, used to indicate finality. Occasionally as n. (see quots.).
   1. 1949

      > Just sit there and relax and I'll dash and get you an enormous zonk of whisky.

      T. Rattigan, Harlequinade 38
   2. 1958

      > I..hurl it with a great zonk into the waste-paper basket.

      Spectator 15 August 218/2
   3. 1961

      > I never took a note when I was interrogating. The moment you got hold of a piece of paper they'd think ‘ah-hah..’ and zonk! they'd button up.

      Radio Times 16 November 47/2
   4. 1968

      > Silas..closed the safe door a few times. Zonk. It closed with a clang.

      L. Deighton, Only when I Larf i. 12
   5. 1979

      > He was a man with a catapult. He'd knock a pheasant down—zonk!

      R. Blythe, View in Winter i. 64
   colloquial and slang
   1. zonk 1949–
      Representing the sound of a blow or heavy impact, used to indicate finality. Occasionally as n. (see quots.).
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zonk 1949–
      Representing the sound of a blow or heavy impact, used to indicate finality. Occasionally as n. (see quots.).
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɒŋk/
zonk

### U.S. English

/zɔŋk/
zawnk
/zɑŋk/
zahnk

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zonk typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zonk is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zonk, int., 1940–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1940 | 0.0005
1950 | 0.0006
1960 | 0.0006
1970 | 0.0007
1980 | 0.0008
1990 | 0.0009
2000 | 0.001
2010 | 0.0009

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zonk, v. 1950–
   transitive. To hit, strike, or knock. Also figurative.

zonk, int. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zonk, int. was last modified in July 2023.