hunch
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to thrust out or up in a hump; arch.
to hunch one's back.
-
to shove, push, or jostle.
verb (used without object)
-
to thrust oneself forward jerkily; lunge forward.
-
to stand, sit, or walk in a bent posture.
noun
-
a premonition or suspicion; guess.
I have a hunch he'll run for reelection.
- Synonyms:
- conjecture, theory, feeling, surmise
-
a hump.
-
a push or shove.
-
a lump or thick piece.
noun
-
an intuitive guess or feeling
-
another word for hump
-
a lump or large piece
verb
-
to bend or draw (oneself or a part of the body) up or together
-
to sit in a hunched position
Etymology
Origin of hunch
1590–1600; 1900–05 hunch for def. 5; apparently variant of obsolete hinch to push, shove, kick < ?
Explanation
When you pose for pictures with short friends, you hunch over so you don't tower above them — you scrunch up your shoulders, bend your knees, and try to look smaller. You can also have a hunch, which has nothing to do with scrunching. When you have a hunch about something, you think it might be true. Your dog bolts over the fence, and you have a hunch he's heading for the neighbor who feeds him pâté. Hunch is an odd word of unknown origin, which seems to have originally meant "to push or shove" — to nudge.
Vocabulary lists containing hunch
Mockingbird
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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"A Village After Dark" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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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.
Dr Nick Longrich, a paleontologist at the University of Bath, said his hunch was that they were mainly preying on ammonites.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Roberts admits that the “magic number” of $1.46 million is more of a hunch or perception of what people think they’ll need, rather than an official financial calculation.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
“My hunch is it was shocking,” Mora said of the immigration raids last summer.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Ryan Sohn, Rigor Hill’s co-owner, opened the store in 2022 on the hunch that diners who eat at Michelin-star restaurants would also pay top dollar for takeaway.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
“Bark? Yes. This is Nimbus. I want you to sell all my shares in the shuttle port. Yes, all of them. I have a hunch the price is about to take a severe dive.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
