bunker
Americannoun
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bunkers
plural
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a large bin or receptacle; a fixed chest or box.
a coal bunker.
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a fortification set mostly below the surface of the ground with overhead protection provided by logs and earth or by concrete and fitted with openings through which guns may be fired.
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Golf. any obstacle, as a sand trap or mound of dirt, constituting a hazard.
verb (used with object)
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bunkers,
present (3rd person singular)
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bunkered,
past participle, past
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bunkering
present participle
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Nautical.
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to provide fuel for (a vessel).
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to convey (bulk cargo, except grain) from a vessel to an adjacent storehouse.
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Golf. to hit (a ball) into a bunker.
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to equip with or as if with bunkers.
to bunker an army's defenses.
noun
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a large storage container or tank, as for coal
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Also called (esp US and Canadian): sand trap. an obstacle on a golf course, usually a sand-filled hollow bordered by a ridge
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an underground shelter, often of reinforced concrete and with a bank and embrasures for guns above ground
verb
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(tr) golf
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to drive (the ball) into a bunker
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(passive) to have one's ball trapped in a bunker
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(tr) nautical
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to fuel (a ship)
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to transfer (cargo) from a ship to a storehouse
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Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bunkersimple
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bunkerssimple
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have bunkeredperfect
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has bunkeredperfect
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am bunkeringprogressive
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are bunkeringprogressive
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is bunkeringprogressive
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have been bunkeringperfect progressive
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has been bunkeringperfect progressive
Past
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bunkeredsimple
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had bunkeredperfect
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was bunkeringprogressive
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were bunkeringprogressive
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had been bunkeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bunker
First recorded in 1750–60; earlier bonkar ( Scots ) “box, chest, serving also as a seat,” of obscure origin
Explanation
A bunker is an underground shelter, the kind you might build to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. (Be sure to stock up on canned food.) If you talk about a bunker today, most people assume you mean a shelter that's used during war, like a foxhole, or a safe underground or recessed place. Golfers will think you mean an obstacle on a golf course, a depression that's filled with sand. Another kind of bunker is a compartment that's used to store fuel on large ships — the oil itself is known as bunker fuel. The original fuel bunkers held coal, but today they typically contain oil. Bunker comes from a Scottish word for "bench."
Vocabulary lists containing bunker
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
We were given rare access to an underground bunker in Kyiv, dubbed – appropriately enough – the "Iron Command Centre", where railway staff monitor threats in real time.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Deep in a bunker, a device resembling an alarm clock sits on the desk of Maj.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Each bunker leads into an extensive tunnel network beneath the rocks that was built to protect the island in case of attack.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
From below, it looks like an isolated bunker built on the side of a canyon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Odenigbo bashed the snake with a stick and told her he would make sure the zinc sheet at the entrance of the bunker was more secure.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"We are particularly alarmed by incidents in which U.S. diplomatic, military, and security personnel were unable to reach designated bunkers during Russian air raids," the statement says.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The 41-year-old crown prince is shuttling between heavily guarded palaces equipped with bunkers and is guarded by a handpicked security team, officials familiar with his movements said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
As the age’s potent mix of terror and delirium spun on, designers and illustrators proposed ways to live comfortably in space, underwater or in underground bunkers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
On our way up here, we had passed graffiti flamingos on the sides of bunkers and on the path itself, but he had made no reference to them in his spiel about the island’s history.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Some families built their bunkers in secret, worried that neighbors might come knocking.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Antoniadi kept Pizza Hut closed and bunkered down in the restaurant for three days.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2025
“The ethnic patchwork appears to be a map of bunkered enclaves. Its center cannot hold because the city doesn’t have one.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
It is uphill but well within reach from the tee, and heavily bunkered.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2022
“We have shown that we can not only fight, but we can also sing very nice,” said Vitaliy, a soldier bunkered down north of Kyiv.
From Reuters ● May 16, 2022
But poor Willy on that occasion got heavily bunkered; lost his head a little and perhaps his temper more than a little.
From Fifty Years of Golf by Horace G. Hutchinson
People in the Florida city have "seen bad storms before" but are "bunkering up", he said, adding: "You don't want to underestimate a storm like this".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Singapore is the world's top bunkering hub due to its strategic location along the Strait of Malacca, having a well-developed infrastructure and access to refineries.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
"They need to choose a machinery system and make plans for the future. At the same time, there is considerable uncertainty related to fuel prices, carbon pricing, fuel bunkering availability and safety," he says.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024
The proposed expansion would have allowed vessels and so-called bunkering barges to load liquid natural gas to power their own ships, but also to transfer fuel to other ships, making them floating fuel suppliers.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
Some other alterations and new constructions were being done, and the course, one of fine undulations, well-planned bunkering, magnificent putting greens, and glorious scenery, was being brought to perfection.
From The Happy Golfer Being Some Experiences, Reflections, and a Few Deductions of a Wandering Golfer by Henry Leach
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