hunch

[ huhnch ]

/ hʌntʃ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hunch ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to thrust out or up in a hump; arch: to hunch one's back.

to shove, push, or jostle.

verb (used without object)

to thrust oneself forward jerkily; lunge forward.

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

noun

a premonition or suspicion; guess: I have a hunch he'll run for reelection.

a hump.

a push or shove.

a lump or thick piece.

Words nearby hunch

humus, humvee, hun, hun-tun, hunan, hunch, hunchback, hunchback of notre dame, the, hunchbacked, hund., hundred

Origin of hunch

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

SYNONYMS FOR hunch

5 surmise, feeling, theory, conjecture.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hunch ON THESAURUS.COM

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH hunch

haunch hunch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for hunch

An x-ray two hours later confirms my hunch: my tibia (the big bone behind the shin) is snapped clean in two.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the other hand, I have a hunch that Lady Gaga will pay some heavy dues for this career move.
Can Lady Gaga Do Jazz?|Ted Gioia|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My hunch is that when you look at their most competitive races, women are not necessarily in the mix this year.
Michelle Obama and the Top Women Smashing Fundraising Records|Patricia Murphy|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I have a hunch that our collective adoration of OITNB outweighs the love for it, or even awareness of it, among Emmy voters.
Emmys 2014: Who Will and Who Should Be Nominated|Kevin Fallon|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A federal agency simply has to “nominate” you if it has “reasonable suspicion”—which is slightly more than a hunch.
Oregon Judge Grounds the Federal No-Fly List—and It’s High Time|Dean Obeidallah|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I have a hunch that after eating a while in boarding houses a good home-cooked meal must be a welcome change.
The Radio Boys at the Sending Station|Allen Chapman
The words bosse and bossu (hunch and hunchback) have various idiomatic and proverbial applications in France.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 397, November 1848|Various
The ploughboy understood them very well, for to have only a hunch of bread and little or no cheese was often his own case.
Round About a Great Estate|Richard Jefferies
Anyway, this fellow is no policeman, and I've just got a hunch I'd like to know something about him.
Connie Morgan in the Fur Country|James B. Hendryx
"Then I've a hunch that your hunch is a wrong one," said Ives.
The Mystery|Stewart Edward White and Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for hunch

hunch

/ (hʌntʃ) /

noun

an intuitive guess or feeling

another word for hump

a lump or large piece

verb

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

(intr usually foll by up) to sit in a hunched position

Word Origin for hunch

C16: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012