chunk

¹ American  

[chuhngk] / tʃʌŋk /

noun

• chunks
  plural

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.

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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 byout ).

   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.

idioms

1. blow chunks, to vomit.

chunk ² American  

[chuhngk] / tʃʌŋk /

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 byup ).

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chunk British  

/ tʃʌŋk /

noun

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

2. a considerable amount

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chunks
  plural

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chunk chunks

Walter owns a majority of the team, which joined the grid this season, and is seeking to sell a chunk at a valuation of at least $3 billion, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

After spending a good chunk of the past year in Wall Street’s doghouse, Microsoft currently stands as the winner among the major cloud companies.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Dallas just ran for 204 yards against Philadelphia, and the Cardinals do give up chunk plays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

He spent a large chunk of last season with the Toffees under a similar arrangement, scoring twice and providing six assists in 20 appearances, before sustaining a season-ending foot injury in January.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

I’m standing before my friends, my classmates, and a pretty fair chunk of my town—a town I plunged into a lot of hassle with my stupid, thoughtless actions.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

A US official said recently that the chances of the package being split into smaller chunks "have gone way up".

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

In Kelce’s heyday, his superpower was reeling in passes from Mahomes and then picking up huge chunks of yards with his legs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

It is too early to know how this plan will play out — the new bus lane curbs on Clark show missing chunks already from drivers that likely didn’t see them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Alcaraz, 23, is one of a number of players to have missed large chunks of the season with injury.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

We add a dash of steeped tea and pour chunks of the halwa mixture into the machine’s churning bowl.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

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Related Words

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

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