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bunker
[ buhng-ker ]
/ ˈbʌŋ kər /
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noun
a large bin or receptacle; a fixed chest or box: a coal bunker.
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.
Golf. any obstacle, as a sand trap or mound of dirt, constituting a hazard.
verb (used with object)
Nautical.
- to provide fuel for (a vessel).
- to convey (bulk cargo, except grain) from a vessel to an adjacent storehouse.
Golf. to hit (a ball) into a bunker.
to equip with or as if with bunkers: to bunker an army's defenses.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of bunker
First recorded in 1750–60; earlier bonkar (Scots ) “box, chest, serving also as a seat,” of obscure origin
Words nearby bunker
Bunin, bunion, bunionette, bunk, bunk bed, bunker, bunkerage, Bunker, Archie, bunker buster, Bunker Hill, Bunker Hill, Battle of
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bunker in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for bunker
bunker
/ (ˈbʌŋkə) /
noun
a large storage container or tank, as for coal
Also called (esp US and Canadian): sand trap an obstacle on a golf course, usually a sand-filled hollow bordered by a ridge
an underground shelter, often of reinforced concrete and with a bank and embrasures for guns above ground
verb
(tr) golf
- to drive (the ball) into a bunker
- (passive) to have one's ball trapped in a bunker
(tr) nautical
- to fuel (a ship)
- to transfer (cargo) from a ship to a storehouse
Word Origin for bunker
C16 (in the sense: chest, box): from Scottish bonkar, of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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