noun / verb

junk

JUNGK/dʒʌŋk/

Unwanted or worthless material, or to discard something as such.

The heap of junk includes a broken chair, cracked pot, and damaged fan.

A compact heap of visibly worn-out household objects: a dented rusty bucket, a broken chair, a cracked empty flowerpot, and a damaged table fan, loosely piled rather than displayed for use.

Etymology

junkEnglishold rope or discarded material

Older junk meant worn rope and later discarded material. The drug slang reuses that word; its deeper origin is uncertain, and the Chinese vessel-name is separate.

In context

The Modern Yeoman2:39

there's a lot of junk in here that needs to be cleared away which will be a recurrent theme in this property tour junk that needs to be cleared away

We MADE it! Farm Tour Part One: The Land.

More examples

This drawer is full of junk we never use.
They junked the printer because repairing it cost too much.
Don't junk that chair; I can fix it.

Forms

junk · junks · junked · junking

junkyard noun — Place where discarded vehicles and materials accumulate.

Similar words

trash: Usually emphasizes waste for disposal rather than unwanted possessions.
scrap: Often refers to discarded material recoverable for reuse.
discard: Means getting rid of something without necessarily judging it worthless.