funk out

English

Verb

funk out (third-person singular simple present funks out, present participle funking out, simple past and past participle funked out)

1. (dated or dialectal) To back out in a cowardly way; to chicken out.
   • 1848, James Russell Lowell, The Biglow Papers:

     to funk right out o' p'lit'cal strife

   • 1887, Frederick Whsihaw (translator), Fyodor Dostoevsky (original), The Gambler:

     “What! why not? what's the meaning of this? are you funking out of it? You're all a set of cowards.”

2. To malfunction.
   • 2012, W. G. Marshall, Enormity:

     “I don't know; we've lost line-of-sight, and I think my com is funking out, too. Maybe the static discharge shorted it out. We're gonna have to backtrack and find everybody.”

   • 2013, Mark Shepherd, Kris Longknife: Defender:

     Jack did not like it when his technology funked out, but with forty-three Marines keeping careful watch, he could at least search with the Mark I eyeball.

3. To rock out to funk music.
   • 2018, Eric Wendell, Experiencing Herbie Hancock: A Listener's Companion:

     Maupin shines, particularly at 4:48 where he funks out, completely eschewing the tempo and expanding the palette of the band.

   • 2022, Kelly Siskind, The Beat Match:

     Dancing, energized, smiling at Wes, who was dressed to the nines with his cuffs rolled and slacks ironed, funking out to the tunes.

References

• “funk”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.