Hun
Americannoun
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a member of a nomadic and warlike Asian people who devastated or controlled large parts of eastern and central Europe and who exercised their greatest power under Attila in the 5th century a.d.
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(often lowercase) a barbarous, destructive person; vandal.
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Older Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a German, especially a German soldier in World War I or II.
noun
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a member of any of several Asiatic nomadic peoples speaking Mongoloid or Turkic languages who dominated much of Asia and E Europe from before 300 bc , invading the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries a.d
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informal (esp in World War I) a derogatory name for a German
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informal a vandal
Sensitive Note
The disparaging and offensive use of this term likens the Germans to the barbarous and warlike Huns of the 4th and 5th centuries. The source of the comparison was a speech by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900, encouraging German soldiers bound for China to act toward the Chinese just like “the Huns a thousand years ago.”
Usage
What else does hun mean? Hun can be a term of endearment, a phonetic spelling from a shortening of honey. It's also used as a derogatory slang term for women involved in multi-level marketing.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Hun
before 900; 1895–1900 Hun for def. 3; singular of Huns, Old English Hūnas; cognate with Old Norse Hūnar; akin to Late Latin Hunnī
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.
Rickover likened himself to Attila the Hun and had young officers conduct job interviews on chairs with specially shortened front legs, banishing them to a closet if they disappointed him.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Li owned 62 percent of Huione Pay's shares, while Hun To owned 30 percent, according to a report by liquidator Reachs & Partners.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Manet, Cambodia has made combating online scams a national priority, supported by sustained nationwide efforts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
In AD 452, when Attila the Hun sacked city after city in his conquest of the known world, it was the Catholic Church, not the Roman military, that met him in a show of diplomacy.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Some pair they made: Attila the Hun and Gracie the useless.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
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.
