any of various Chinese boats with a high poop and lugsails
"The captain ordered the crew to prepare the junk for departure as the monsoon winds began to rise."
Discarded or waste material; rubbish, trash, garbage.
"The old junk drifted slowly across the calm waters near the coast."
A Chinese sailing vessel.
In plain English: Junk is trash that you don't need anymore and usually throw away because it has no value.
"They threw all their old junk into the back of the truck for disposal."
Usage: Use this word to refer to discarded items like old furniture or paper rather than valuable objects. Avoid confusing it with the archaic term for a ship unless discussing historical contexts.
A surname.
"Junk is a famous American football player who played in the NFL during the 1980s."
Originally a nautical term for old rope or cable that was cut up to use as ship caulking, the word junk entered Middle English with uncertain origins. While some have suggested it might be related to words meaning rush or reed, there is no clear historical evidence connecting these meanings.