adjective
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thick and short
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consisting of or containing thick pieces
chunky dog food
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(of clothes, esp knitwear) made of thick bulky material
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of chunky
Explanation
Something that's full of little lumps and bits is chunky. Some people are crazy about chunky peanut butter, while others prefer it to be smooth and creamy. Some kinds of soup are chunky, with hunks of potato and pieces of broccoli, and you can also make a chunky spaghetti sauce that's full of tomato bits. When a person is described as chunky, it means they're dense and thick-bodied, and sometimes quite muscular. Chunky is an American English word, from the sense of chunk as "a thick piece of something,"
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.
Chunky payouts and subdued prices meant the 1930s weren’t quite as bad as they looked.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
They include not crossing one’s legs, not eating soup in public – sorry to all those NFL spokesmen for Campbell’s Chunky, I guess – and the straw ban.
From Salon • Jun. 1, 2025
Meanwhile, a Nestle Kit Kat Chunky milk chocolate Easter egg stayed at the same price at the supermarket, but was reduced from 129g to 110g - making it 17% more expensive per 100g.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2025
Since releasing the ad, Ms. Lee said, the company has garnered four times the ordinary engagement on TikTok with its Chunky products.
From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2024
“Why yes, yes I will go back and help myself to that Chunky Monkey in your freezer, too.”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
