bunch
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
to gather into a cluster; gather together.
-
(of fabric or clothing) to gather into folds (often followed byup ).
noun
-
a number of things growing, fastened, or grouped together
a bunch of grapes
a bunch of keys
-
a collection; group
a bunch of queries
-
informal a group or company
a bunch of boys
-
archaic a protuberance
verb
Usage
What is a basic definition of bunch? A bunch is a group of things. Bunch can also specifically mean a group that is connected together. Used informally, a bunch is a group of people. As a verb, bunch means to gather into a group. A bunch is a collection or group of items gathered into one place. If you have a bunch of papers on your desk, for example, you have many papers on your desk.
- Used in a sentence: Angela was happy to see that there were a bunch of presents under the Christmas tree.
- Real-life examples: You might eat from a bunch of grapes and be left with just the stem. A maintenance person usually carries a bunch of keys on a ring.
- Used in a sentence: I bought a small bunch of bananas.
- Used in a sentence: A bunch of kids ran past us to watch the clown perform magic tricks.
- Used in a sentence: I bunched all of the wrapping paper into a ball and threw it in the trash.
Synonym Usage
See bundle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bunchsimple
-
bunchessimple
-
have bunchedperfect
-
has bunchedperfect
-
am bunchingprogressive
-
are bunchingprogressive
-
is bunchingprogressive
-
have been bunchingperfect progressive
-
has been bunchingperfect progressive
Past
-
bunchedsimple
-
had bunchedperfect
-
was bunchingprogressive
-
were bunchingprogressive
-
had been bunchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bunch
1275–1325; Middle English bunche; of uncertain origin
Explanation
A group or cluster of something is a bunch. It could be a bunch of people or a bunch of grapes. If you pick a bunch of bananas, you might end up being followed by a bunch of monkeys. When you use the word bunch, you're generally talking about an approximate number of similar items, like a bunch of flowers or a bunch of cats or a bunch of your friends meeting for dinner. The verb bunch means "gather together," or "form into a bunch," the way you might bunch daisies together in a vase, or your socks might bunch down inside your boots.
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:
Philipsen won stage 17 and fellow Belgian Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick Step won three bunch sprint stages.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
In an effort to lighten things up and reduce risk—and, let’s be honest, boost productivity through camaraderie—more companies are planning retreats that could have been designed by a bunch of 10-year-olds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
More recently, a bunch of “unruly teenagers,” as Syd describes them, have been doing doughnuts in the street near her parents’ house.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Otherwise, we can't get to net zero," he said, "because you'll always have a bunch of emissions from metal mining from this process."
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
A website listing a bunch of places to submit puzzles to pops up.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Step into your local supermarket, and you may find that those ordinarily humble broccoli bunches or cauliflower heads now carry higher price tags.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
In the Southern California Division I regional playoffs, LeDuc has watched his Damien players make threes in bunches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
The royal couple paid a visit earlier this week to Powys, where they greeted cheering crowds holding bunches of daffodils, the national flower of Wales.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
On a bridge next to the Kremlin on a drizzly Friday morning, a lone Russian police officer stood looking at the half-dozen bunches of flowers laying in memory of slain opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
I also took three bunches of sticky notes, my whole bundle of sharpened pencils, a few pens, and ran back to the living room.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Cassidy, Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow, and state treasurer John Fleming have been relatively bunched in the polling.
From Slate ● May 16, 2026
"I feel like it's always very bunched here," said Canada's Taylor.
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
But he said spending was bunched in the last few weeks before Christmas, which was probably due to people waiting to see what was announced in the Budget.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
He says he knows from experience the perilous nature of racing, with jockeys balanced over a saddle the size of a large handkerchief and horses bunched together running up to 40 miles an hour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Their twisted, giant trunks were bunched together like some sort of crowd...or guards.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Even those who missed the boat on opening a DAF last year might find it useful for bunching deductions into one tax year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
In its assessment of the tax, the OBR said it expected the tax would begin to be reflected in the price of properties, with "price bunching to just below each band boundary".
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
In other cases, the bunching strategy may work best for people who push up their charitable contributions and state and local tax payments into this year.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
The glaze contracted without exposing much clay, bunching up into a kind of dense-packed low relief and a pattern that suggests entrails.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
Also, doc, right now the phone messages and e-mails are bunching up and the rumors are flying.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
