Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) to sleep; esp. in the context of a shared prison cell, service dormitory etc.

1850		C.L. Canfield Diary of a Forty-Niner (1906) 15: Bunking With Pard.
1856		C. Abbey diary 19 Apr. in Gosnell Before the Mast (1989) 28: I ‘bunked in’ & had a snooze.
1859		C. Mackay Life & Liberty in America I 28: ‘Bunk together?’ ‘Yes; bunk, sleep, chum, live together’.
1864		T.F. Upson diary 29 May in Winther With Sherman to the Sea (1958) 115: Possum (Sam Allbright) and I bunk together.
1876		‘Dan de Quille’ Big Bonanza (1947) 157: Bunks were ranged along the sides of the room [...] and here editor, printers, proprietors, and all hands ‘bunked’.
1884		J. Miller Memorie and Rime 61: You’d better bunk with us—eh, boys?
1890		A.C. Gunter Miss Nobody of Nowhere 257: He don’t dare go home and bunks at the Hoffman.
1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 9 Aug. 15/4: The lately-lamented Governor-General was always a tired man, and whenever he tried to shine as an energetic official he became knocked out, and had to ‘bunk’ for recuperation.
1913		H.A. Franck Zone Policeman 88 24: Seventeen bona fide and wrathy employees were even then bunking in the pool-room of Corozal hotel.
1918		J.E. Rendinell letter 7 Feb. in One Man’s War (1928) 49: There is ten of us fellows bunk in a house in this town.
1919		H.C. Witwer Smile A Minute 66: They go under the name of cuteys. Joe, they sure do like a soldier, and once they make up their minds to bunk with you, Sherlock Holmes couldn’t find ’em.
1927		D. Hammett ‘The Big Knockover’ Story Omnibus (1966) 307: Everybody in town knows you bunk there.
1932		J.C. Rogers ‘South’ in Botkin Folk-Say 150: The boss gave an order that there wasn’t to be no more sleepin’ on the job. The workers all said ‘The hell there ain’t,’ and started bunkin’ behind the barrels.
a.1948		(con. early 1930s) C. McKay Harlem Glory (1990) 47: Or else you wouldn’t be bunking down there on Eighth Avenue.
1953		P. Closterman (trans.) Big Show 56: Normally I bunked in his tent too.
1959		A. Zugsmith Beat Generation 87: Not to any of the homes where he was welcome to bunk. He had no room of his own.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 70: Since I was one of the youngest cons in the joint I bunked in a dormitory.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 124: They spent half their stupid lives bunked up three to a cell wondering who was charvering the missus.
1978		L. Kramer Faggots 278: He and I bunked with four guys I knew from somewhere.
1981		J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 74: Then a vagary of fortune [...] saved the Greek and the Turk from bunking in the slam.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 142: DeAndre is bunking with boys who’ve done shootings and murders, boys who’ll be inside until their eighteenth birthday.
2000		F.X. Toole Rope Burns 87: He bunked with a trainer friend.
2008		(ref. to 1971) F. Dennis ‘Old Bailey’ Homeless in my Heart 179: One thing I hate [...] Is bunkin’ with a bleeding perv.
2012		A. McKinty ‘The Dutch Book’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] Cathy must have bunked off early.
2017		T. Pluck Bad Boy Boogie [ebook] ‘I’m going to bunk early’ [Ibid.] ‘You’re bunking with a sister named Rene’.
2019		M. Herron Joe Country [ebook] [A]lways last out of the showers when bunking with a crew.

2. to lie down.

1905		H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 198: The robber guy comes in, bunks down by me.
1947–53		W. Guthrie Seeds of Man (1995) 290: Bunk’d ya down on these dry leaves like this?

3. in fig. use, to associate with.

1903		A.H. Lewis Boss 166: I’ve got to bunk in more or less with the mugwumps.
1915		C.J. Dennis ‘Uncle Jim’ in Songs of a Sentimental Bloke 95: Now Forchin’s come to bunk wiv me at larst.

4. to give someone a place to sleep.

1955

‘Blackie’ Audett Rap Sheet 41: They bunked us down out in the barn.

5. to live together.

1975		A. Bleasdale Scully 27: Next we heard, he’d bunked in with Dorothy, the crosseyed barmaid out of the Black Horse.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 150: Bunks with Monroe briefly.

6. to climb.

2000

Guardian Weekend 17 June 29: The people who bunk over the fence and sleep in a hedge.