adj · intj · name · noun · verb · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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rhymes with -ɒŋk
CMU ARPABET:T AO1 NG K
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Big, muscular, massive.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hench, able-bodied, athletic, Atlantean, beefy, beefed out, brawny, brolic, buff, built, built like a brick shithouse, built like a tank, buirdly, burly, Cyclopean, deep-rooted, dench, diced, fit, gigantic, Herculean, hale, hearty, husky, in shape, jacked, lusty, like a giant refreshed, made of iron, muscular, muscled, muscleful, ripped, rugged, sculpted, sinewy, strapping, strong as a lion, strong as a horse, strong as an ox, strong as brandy, swole, toned, virile, well-built, well-fed, well-knit, wiry
Antonyms: none provided
2
intj
Meaning 2
Representing a sound produced by knocking on something hollow.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
name
Meaning 3
A district of Rajasthan, India.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An illegal immigrant of any country.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, derogatory, slang
Examples
1990: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee - An agent, Larry Moy, when asked to define the derivation of the term “tonk,” replied: “...it's the sound of flashlight hitting somebody's head, tonk". [This "derivation" is incorrect - see Etymology]
1998: Cirenio Rodriguez & Enrique T Trueba, Leadership, education and political action, in Ethnic Identity and Power: Cultural Contexts of Political Action in School and Society - "Catch as many tonks as you guys can. Safely. An alien is not worth busting a leg."
2005: EMF (poster on The QandO Blog in response to Illegal immigration made easy, read at https://web.archive.org/web/20060528001651/http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=789 on 27 May 2006) - The pissed off Arizona land owner who snipes the tonks with a high powered rifle.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
An item or items of value, or of perceived value, especially for sale.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, slang, uncountable
Examples
How much tonk have we got to shift?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
A matching card game, combining features of knock rummy and conquian.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
A sound produced by knocking on something hollow.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
A resounding strike of the ball; a powerful hit of the ball with the bat.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Onomatopoeic.
Origins are unknown, but definitely predate the use of metal flashlights, contrary to the most quoted description of origin. It is probable that the origin relates to Chinese immigration, as the first law to restrict immigration from a particular country was enacted in 1882 to limit the numbers of Chinese coming to the United States. It is said that many of the illegal immigrants made their way to the US via the Gulf of Tonkin area of what is now Vietnam. It is also possible that the term is related to the Chinese "tong" mob.
