1
: an old or badly working piece of machinery
especially
: a dilapidated automobile
2
: someone or something notably unsuccessful
told a joke that was a real clunker
Examples of clunker in a Sentence
My first car was an old clunker that kept breaking down.
That joke was a real clunker.
The director's recent films have all been clunkers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Flaherty’s most recent trip was less memorable, a five-run clunker last April amid a career-worst season.
—
Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Usher’s catalogue isn’t perfect — there’s a handful of clunkers from just about every era — but all songs are ranked based on a combination of their importance to his canon and whether the writing, vocal performances, and production work together to create the best experience possible.
—Dylan Green, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2024
In general, Green Bay’s defense stepped up late in the season, but we are reminded of a couple of clunkers against the Giants and Panthers.
—Hank Gola, New York Daily News, 19 Jan. 2024
On that last point, there were reasons for Biden loyalists to hold hope; one set of polls showed Biden actually narrowing his deficit with Trump in swing states despite a clunker of a debate and a massacre in headlines that followed.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 8 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for clunker 
Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
Usher’s catalogue isn’t perfect — there’s a handful of clunkers from just about every era — but all songs are ranked based on a combination of their importance to his canon and whether the writing, vocal performances, and production work together to create the best experience possible.
—Dylan Green, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2024
In general, Green Bay’s defense stepped up late in the season, but we are reminded of a couple of clunkers against the Giants and Panthers.
—Hank Gola, New York Daily News, 19 Jan. 2024
On that last point, there were reasons for Biden loyalists to hold hope; one set of polls showed Biden actually narrowing his deficit with Trump in swing states despite a clunker of a debate and a massacre in headlines that followed.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 8 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for clunker
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clunker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Clunker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clunker. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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