funk

noun

1. (countable)Foul or unpleasant smell, especially body odor.

   “The foulest stench is in the air; the funk of 40,000 years and grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom.”

2. (uncountable)A style of music derived from 1960s soul music, with elements of rock and other styles, characterized by a prominent bass guitar, dance-friendly sound, a strong emphasis on the downbeat, and much syncopation.
3. (obsolete)Touchwood, punk, tinder.
4. (countable)Mental depression.

   “I've been in a funk lately, I fell into a funk, I slipped into a funk, I was stuck in a funk”

   “it helped me get out of a funk”

5. (uncountable)A state of fear or panic, especially cowardly.

   “[The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]”

   “—A woful lunatic, Mulligan said. Were you in a funk?”

   “Holmes was coming upstairs. Holmes would burst open the door. Holmes would say, “In a funk, eh?” Holmes would get him.”

   “1944 (written, first published in 2015), Bob Cooney, Proud Journey As I left the platform, the atmosphere was tense but there was no sign of uneasiness or funk […]”

6. (countable)One who fears or panics; a coward.

   “It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.”

verb

1. (intransitive)To emit an offensive smell; to stink.
2. (transitive)To envelop with an offensive smell or smoke.

   “He funks Basketia and her son to death”

   “Funking a cobbler – that is, blowing smoke into his stall; smoking cigars at divans and club houses; […]”

3. (intransitive)To perform funk music.

   “From the earliest part of this decade when he funked in relative obscurity to his days as a superstar with the release of his Batman soundtrack last summer, I could almost always count on Prince.”

4. (euphemistic, slang)Fuck (the taboo swear word).

   “Funk this!”

   “Snow bunny, I pledge to funk you baby / You sexy lady, my only temptation […] Oh, I just want to funk you”

   “Look, glittery tacos have their place. A date, business lunch, night out with besties, etc. But otherwise, paying almost 20 bucks for pizzazz between a few tortillas in Huntsville, funk that.”

5. (ambitransitive)To shrink from, or avoid something because of fear.

   “He'll have funked it, when he comes to the edge, and sees nothing but mist below”

   “It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.”

   “"Always wanted a go at the figure. Funked it. Shows what a man can do, given the right model. Dam' good model."”

6. (transitive)To frighten; to cause to flinch.