adjective
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thick and short
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consisting of or containing thick pieces
chunky dog food
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(of clothes, esp knitwear) made of thick bulky material
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of chunky
Explanation
Something that's full of little lumps and bits is chunky. Some people are crazy about chunky peanut butter, while others prefer it to be smooth and creamy. Some kinds of soup are chunky, with hunks of potato and pieces of broccoli, and you can also make a chunky spaghetti sauce that's full of tomato bits. When a person is described as chunky, it means they're dense and thick-bodied, and sometimes quite muscular. Chunky is an American English word, from the sense of chunk as "a thick piece of something,"
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:
Bianco is keen to stress that goods inflation is definitely a problem, but his argument is that these chunky 5.25% bond yields compensate investors for that risk.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Here, you can sit down at a chunky late-’90s computer and explore the original site yourself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The result: Almost a third of the Dutch gold reserve is in London and a still chunky 19% in New York, flipping their earlier positions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Make the filling: Pulse the cream cheese, Parmesan, giardiniera and herbs in a food processor until chunky and spreadable, not smooth.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
This one was almost twice as large, chunky and heavy, with a short bobtail and thick furry legs.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
Did “Étoile” scripts feel any bigger or chunkier than “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” or “Gilmore Girls”?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
The stitches are bigger, so chunkier yarn is used, and this means blankets can be knitted more quickly than in traditional knitting.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2024
For a chunkier dip: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth thin stir in lemon juice and garlic salt.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2024
From others it seems an elegant high-tech cousin of the Transamerica Pyramid, the chunkier building across the bay.
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
The Hummingbird, is smaller still, and the Winter Wren measures no more, only he is chunkier.
From Citizen Bird Scenes from Bird-Life in Plain English for Beginners by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Silicon Valley is where the chunkiest share awards tend to be, so it’s possible the strong performance of almost anything tech-related has outweighed their ill effects so far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Cut a slice and cozy up under your chunkiest throw blanket.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2022
And Boris Johnson has used this occasion to make big changes to the cabinet - the most significant switch coming in one of the chunkiest jobs of all.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2021
“Grab a cable-knit scarf and your chunkiest sweater / ‘Cause the summer was dope, but the fall’s even better,” the “Money Good” artist mused in the video.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2019
And right bang in the center is the chunkiest button of them: the home button, complete with the McLaren logo etched on the front.
From The Verge ● Dec. 29, 2017
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
