sunk

1 of 2

past tense and past participle of sink

sunk

2 of 2

adjective

1
: depressed in spirits
2

Examples of sunk in a Sentence

Adjective all our savings went for lottery tickets, and now we're sunk
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The sunk cost fallacy, for example, can lead companies to continue investing in maintaining a physical office space, despite the benefits of remote work. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023 The sunk cost fallacy is a bias that behavioral economists say can cause a person to stick with a losing investment. Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 22 Mar. 2022 One of their best times was a day where their biggest haul was a bunch of sunk bushes near the shore, where all three of them managed to tangle their lines. Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2022 There is also the opportunity for organizations to connect freely via virtual communication, reducing the sunk cost of initial conversations. Dax Grant, Forbes, 13 June 2022 An additional 20 fans, about the size of small trucks, destined for Russia are sitting on her factory floor — a sunk cost of €350,000. New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022 If the Rockets just sit him now, perhaps the thinking is that that $36 million contract becomes a sunk cost? Rahat Huq, Chron, 15 Nov. 2021 The move didn’t eliminate the enormous cap hit the team faced from its disastrous long-term extension with Wentz, but ultimately Philadelphia recognized a sunk cost and moved on from the Wentz era. Howard Megdal, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021 Happy Customers Buy More Until recently, assisting customers was regarded as a sunk cost that dragged down the bottom line. Jeff Koyen, Forbes, 7 May 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sunk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of sunk was in 1583

Dictionary Entries Near sunk

Cite this Entry

“Sunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sunk. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sunk

past and past participle of sink

More from Merriam-Webster on sunk

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