chunk
1 Americannoun
-
chunks
plural
verb (used with object)
-
to cut, break, or form into chunks.
Chunk that wedge of cheese and put the pieces on a plate.
-
to remove a chunk or chunks from (often followed byout ).
Storms have chunked out the road.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb (used with object)
-
to toss or throw; chuck.
chunking pebbles at the barn door.
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to make or rekindle (a fire) by adding wood, coal, etc., or by stoking (sometimes followed byup ).
noun
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a thick solid piece, as of meat, wood, etc
-
a considerable amount
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chunk1
First recorded in 1685–95; nasalized variant of chuck 2
Origin of chunk2
An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; perhaps nasalized variant of chuck 1
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:
The crypto empire has created a huge chunk of his family’s recent windfalls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Many have kept a big chunk of their portfolios in cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
In a victim statement played in court, Linda's cousin Westmore said a "huge chunk of happiness and joy" had been taken from her family's lives.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
As the team flew home last month, following a 4-1 defeat by Bristol City, Eddie Howe spent the journey watching a chunk of the game back.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
With his bare hands, he pried another chunk of rock from his mountain and began shaping it into a ball.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
“Tanya came through from the kitchen with another tray of small things on sticks–olives, chunks of pineapple. Our eyes met. ‘I’m going through a ‘70s thing,’ she said.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
The streets are littered with glass and chunks of brick.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Neighbors and people driving by rushed to the scene to help, and some removed chunks of stucco wall covering the children, bringing them to safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
“If you tell me: ‘my family had a sugar mill,’ chances are all you’re going to get is chunks of rusted iron in an abandoned field.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
We feed pure meat to the sled dogs—well, all dogs, as far as that goes, cut-up chunks of bloody beef heart.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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.
