chunk

¹

[ chuhngk ]

noun

1. a thick mass or lump of anything:

   a chunk of bread;

   a chunk of firewood.

   Synonyms: gob, wad, piece, hunk

2. Informal. a thick-set and strong person.
3. a strong and stoutly built horse or other animal.
4. a substantial amount of something:

   Rent is a real chunk out of my pay.

verb (used with object)

1. to cut, break, or form into chunks:

   Chunk that wedge of cheese and put the pieces on a plate.

2. to remove a chunk or chunks from (often followed by out ):

   Storms have chunked out the road.

verb (used without object)

1. to form, give off, or disintegrate into chunks:

   My tires have started to chunk.

chunk

²

[ chuhngk ]

verb (used with object)

, South Midland and Southern U.S.

1. to toss or throw; chuck:

   chunking pebbles at the barn door.

2. to make or rekindle (a fire) by adding wood, coal, etc., or by stoking (sometimes followed by up ).

chunk

/ tʃʌŋk /

noun

1. a thick solid piece, as of meat, wood, etc
2. a considerable amount

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of chunk¹

C17: variant of chuck ²

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. blow chunks, Slang. to vomit.

Example Sentences

Mine was nicely flavored, with a little bit of heat from that promised Cajun seasoning, but it was limp, not crisp, and fell away from the fish in gummy chunks when I tried to pull the edge of the filet apart.

From Washington Post

After time and exposure to sunlight, they tend to weather into smaller and smaller chunks with the same chemical composition.

From Popular-Science

The recipe developer Rick Martinez uses a similar method, breaking the cooked sweet potatoes into large chunks, dousing them in good oil and plenty of salt, and letting the oven crisp up all the corners.

From Eater

Heated gloves use the same lithium-ion battery technology as the rechargeable ones listed above, but the active heaters are fit to the glove, so you can maintain grip and flexibility without maneuvering around a large chunk of plastic and metal.

From Popular-Science

This 70-year-old family-run dairy is a master at balancing smooth and crunchy textures for optimal chunk-burrowing with a spoon.

From Eater

Al Qaeda has never managed to carve out a large chunk of real estate to call its own—in Afghanistan it was a guest of the Taliban.

From The Daily Beast

They gave us three laptops (to run our light show) and a nice chunk of cash.

From The Daily Beast

According to Travolta, quite a good chunk of the dance routine was conceived on the spot.

From The Daily Beast

Most scientists who study the Moon think it formed when a huge impact in the early Solar System broke a chunk of Earth off.

From The Daily Beast

Reynolds spent $1.5 million on an anti-smoking campaign, a large chunk of his wealth.

From The Daily Beast

It's a big chunk of money, and a little thing like killing a man or two won't trouble them.

From Project Gutenberg

She was working on a chunk of marble and she had the forehead and general scalp contours almost completed.

From Project Gutenberg

And it makes a huge chunk of a very different style and quality between Chapters II.

From Project Gutenberg

Davis, because a man of family and more conservative, insisted it would be a “pretty tough chunk of a fight.”

From Project Gutenberg

Then one o' the Lieutenant's men jerked the chunk o' cheese away and283 broke it open.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• block
• dollop
• hunk
• lump
• piece
• portion
• wad