- (also punk rock)[uncountable] a type of loud and aggressive rock music popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s
- a punk band
CultureThe music which popular punk bands such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash played was usually loud, fast and violent, and expressed anger against society. Punk fashions, introduced by Vivienne Westwood and others, included torn clothes, safety pins and coloured hair.Topics Musicb2Want to learn more?
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- (also punk rocker)[countable] a person who likes punk music and dresses like a punk musician, for example by wearing metal chains, leather clothes and having brightly coloured hair
- a punk haircut
- [countable] (especially North American English, informal) a young man or boy who behaves in a rude or violent way synonym lout
Word Originlate 17th cent. (originally referring to a soft, crumbly wood attacked by fungus and used as tinder): perhaps, in some senses, related to archaic punk ‘prostitute’, also to spunk.
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