gunny

American  

[guhn-ee] / ˈgʌn i /

noun

• gunnies
  plural

1. a strong, coarse material made commonly from jute, especially for bags or sacks; burlap.

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gunny British  

/ ˈɡʌnɪ /

noun

1. a coarse hard-wearing fabric usually made from jute and used for sacks, etc

2. Also called: gunny sack. a sack made from this fabric

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gunnies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of gunny

1705–15; < Hindi gonī < Sanskrit: sack, perhaps originally of hide; cf. gaur

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gunny gunnies

Government pathologist Richard Njoroge told journalists on Tuesday evening that what they found was "quite unusual" with bodies "stacked in gunny bags", after a day-long process that was interrupted by heavy rains.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

Once the dogs were baying along the rabbit's scent, the gamekeeper ran across the trail ahead of them, dragging a gunny sack of red herrings.

From Salon ● May 13, 2023

“We used gunny sacks to cover the windows because there was no glass.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2018

Not every one of these films is known for its fashion-forwardness: “The Rules of the Game” would be one of the enduring greats if everyone were dressed in gunny sacks instead of Coco Chanel.

From New York Times ● May 7, 2015

Wide-eyed, I said, “Holy smokes, Grandpa, that’s my gunny sack and traps. I didn’t think I’d ever see them again.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Patna chests are covered with bullock hides, Benares with gunnies.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

His sons were gunners and souldiers, and scoured their gunnies with them; but he shewed me severall old deeds granted by the Lords Abbots, with their scales annexed, which I suppose his sonn Capt.

From The Natural History of Wiltshire by John Aubrey

The gunnies of the ships o'ertopped by many feet the quay-wall and their chains rose slanting, tight from the rings.

From Gilian The Dreamer His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro

We found the track of the natives and fell in with several of their gunnies or habitations.

From The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson With the journal of her first commander Lieutenant James Grant by Ida Lee

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