Word
clunker
破旧汽车；老爷车
An old, unreliable car, especially one that runs poorly.
失败之作；蹩脚货；年久失修的旧机器
In use
My old clunker finally broke down on the highway, so I had to call a tow truck.
He saves money by driving a clunker to work instead of buying a new car.
That clunker in the driveway hasn't been started in years.
drive a clunker
指开一辆破旧或不可靠的汽车，语气口语化。
He still drives a clunker to work every day.
他每天仍然开一辆老爷车去上班。
be a clunker
表示某事物或表演质量很差、不成功。
The movie was a real clunker.
这部电影真是个失败之作。
Common mistakes
My car is clunker.My car is a clunker.
clunker 是可数名词单数，表示“一辆破车”时前面必须有冠词 a。汉语没有冠词，所以容易漏掉；加上 a 后句子语法才完整。
The movie was so clunker.The movie was such a clunker.
clunker 是名词，不能用 so 修饰；so 修饰形容词或副词，such a 修饰可数名词单数。把 so 改成 such a，才能表达“这部电影真是部失败之作”。
Connections
Collocations
- old clunker
- 破旧的老爷车
- He still drives an old clunker to work every day.他每天仍然开着一辆破旧的老爷车去上班。
- beat-up clunker
- 破旧不堪的车
- My beat-up clunker finally broke down on the highway.我那辆破旧不堪的车终于在高速公路上抛锚了。
- drive a clunker
- 开破车
- I don't mind driving a clunker as long as it saves money.我不介意开破车，只要能省钱。
- a real clunker
- 真是个失败之作
- That movie was a real clunker; the plot made no sense.那部电影真是个失败之作，情节毫无意义。
- clunker of a movie
- 一部烂片
- The sequel was a clunker of a movie that disappointed fans.这部续集是一部烂片，让影迷大失所望。
Pop culture & quotes
Learner notes
Memory Tip
听“clunk”一声闷响，老车颠簸发出的声音，加上“-er”就成了“clunker”老爷车。
Context & Register
语域：informal 常见场景：谈论旧车或车辆状况、评价电影、演出或产品失败 clunker 是日常口语词，通常用于非正式场合。表示“破旧汽车”时多用于谈论车况；表示“失败之作、蹩脚货”时比较常见于评论或吐槽。正式写作或严肃报道中较少使用。
Grammar Note
可数名词，指故障频出的旧机器或旧车
Pronunciation & Spelling
All of the listed words share the final /ʌŋkə/ (or /ʌŋkər/ in rhotic accents) sound, so they genuinely rhyme with clunker. Watch out for lookalikes such as "clank" (/klæŋk/), "clink" (/klɪŋk/), and "clonk" (/klɒŋk/); they end in -ank/-ink/-onk but have different vowels and do not rhyme.
Dictionary facts from AI_FALLBACK, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.