bunker

American  

[buhng-ker] / ˈbʌŋ kər /

noun

1. a large bin or receptacle; a fixed chest or box.

   a coal bunker.

2. 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.

3. Golf. any obstacle, as a sand trap or mound of dirt, constituting a hazard.

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verb (used with object)

1. Nautical.

   1. to provide fuel for (a vessel).

   2. to convey (bulk cargo, except grain) from a vessel to an adjacent storehouse.

2. Golf. to hit (a ball) into a bunker.

3. to equip with or as if with bunkers.

   to bunker an army's defenses.

bunker British  

/ ˈbʌŋkə /

noun

1. a large storage container or tank, as for coal

2. Also called (esp US and Canadian): sand trap.  an obstacle on a golf course, usually a sand-filled hollow bordered by a ridge

3. an underground shelter, often of reinforced concrete and with a bank and embrasures for guns above ground

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verb

1. (tr) golf

   1. to drive (the ball) into a bunker

   2. (passive) to have one's ball trapped in a bunker

2. (tr) nautical

   1. to fuel (a ship)

   2. to transfer (cargo) from a ship to a storehouse

Etymology

Origin of bunker

First recorded in 1750–60; earlier bonkar ( Scots ) “box, chest, serving also as a seat,” of obscure origin

Example Sentences

On the way back we explore one of the old World War II bunkers and peek at the tide pools.

From Literature

Co-leader after 36 holes, Ko made bogey at the 12th and double bogey at the par-three 13th to stumble back before holing out from a bunker to birdie 14.

From Barron's

He gave back a shot at the par-three 16th, where he was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker, but punctuated his round with a birdie at the par-five 18th.

From Barron's

Drove with a small group out to a bunker in a forest near the city.

From Literature

It’ll be worth a watch as the series expands its scope beyond the bunker and into the mysterious outside world.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• dugout
• fortification
• shelter