spunk (sp?ngk)n.1. Informal Spirit; pluck.2. Punk, touchwood, or other tinder.3. Vulgar Slang Ejaculated semen.[Scottish Gaelic spong, tinder, from Latin spongia, sponge; see sponge.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.spunk (sp??k) n1. informal courage or spirit2. Brit a slang word for semen3. touchwood or tinder, esp originally made from various spongy types of fungus4. informal Austral and NZ a person, esp male, who is sexually attractive[C16 (in the sense: a spark): from Scottish Gaelic spong tinder, sponge, from Latin spongia sponge] ?spunky adj ?spunkily advUsage: The second sense of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in older editions of Collins English Dictionary. However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its useCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014spunk (sp??k) n. 1. pluck; spirit; mettle. 2. tinder; touchwood; punk. [1530?40; obscurely akin to funk spark, touchwood, punk1] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.