bunch
Americannoun
-
bunches
plural
verb (used with object)
-
bunches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bunched,
past participle, past
-
bunching
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
bunches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bunched,
past participle, past
-
bunching
present participle
-
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
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informal a group or company
a bunch of boys
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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
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bunchsimple
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bunchessimple
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have bunchedperfect
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has bunchedperfect
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am bunchingprogressive
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are bunchingprogressive
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is bunchingprogressive
-
have been bunchingperfect progressive
-
has been bunchingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
Of all the Americans hovering around the Top 20—and there are a bunch right now, including Taylor Fritz, who reached the Open final in 2024—he feels like the closest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
A bunch of roses was also left nearby, in tribute to the little girl.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Its facade made it look like a temple in miniature, with two red electric candles, stone lions and a small bunch of pink lilies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Although Serena’s career accomplishments exceed her older sister’s by considerable margins, including a 23-7 advantage in singles majors, what if Venus had been the baby of the Williams bunch?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
“Is that what happened? It happened to a bunch of Mim’s relatives.”
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
The solution would be to get the offense back to scoring in bunches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Some stands sold small cartons of cherry tomatoes for $7, bunches of kale for $4 and a mixed-salad bag for $5.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
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
Several bunches of flowers were left at the scene on Sunday, following the death.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
She would arrange bunches of notes together until the sound came that she wanted.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
An alternative Arctic route, the Northwest Passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Canadian Arctic, is less passable because it is dominated by narrow waterways where ice gets bunched up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
After that, it's about spreading them evenly through the calendar so there are not too many bunched together.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
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
Same pink lips all bunched together like a giant wad of bubble gum.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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
But what if the couple waited until January 2026 to pay their real-estate taxes and make their charitable donations, bunching $50,000 in deductions for those taxes and donations?
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
It can also make automatic adjustments on any given day if required by road congestion, which, the company says, helps to prevent bus services bunching up.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024
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
The postcard was of a tobacco factory, row after row of women bunching bronze leaves into cigars.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
