hunch

American  

[huhnch] / hʌntʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to thrust out or up in a hump; arch.

   to hunch one's back.

2. to shove, push, or jostle.

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verb (used without object)

1. to thrust oneself forward jerkily; lunge forward.

2. to stand, sit, or walk in a bent posture.

noun

1. a premonition or suspicion; guess.

   I have a hunch he'll run for reelection.

   Synonyms:

   conjecture, theory, feeling, surmise

2. a hump.

3. a push or shove.

4. a lump or thick piece.

hunch British  

/ hʌntʃ /

noun

1. an intuitive guess or feeling

2. another word for hump

3. a lump or large piece

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verb

1. to bend or draw (oneself or a part of the body) up or together

2. to sit in a hunched position

Etymology

Origin of hunch

1590–1600; 1900–05 hunch for def. 5; apparently variant of obsolete hinch to push, shove, kick < ?

Example Sentences

Christy plans to travel to the wilds of southern Utah, where, she has a hunch, the riches will be found.

From The Wall Street Journal

Judging by the laundry list of musicians who flocked to the Hotel Cafe in those early years, his hunch was spot-on.

From Los Angeles Times

The off-spinner is an untested theory, an idea, or even a hunch.

From BBC

“You have a hunch, you have a gut feeling, you sort of go down a rabbit hole,” she said, “and you hope that it works.”

From Los Angeles Times

Cameron Winter hunched over the keys on a nearly pitch-black stage at the downtown Los Angeles’s Palace Theatre.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• inkling
• instinct
• intuition
• premonition