noun
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a large piece
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Also called: hunk of a man. slang a well-built, sexually attractive man
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hunk
First recorded in 1805–15, hunk is from the Dutch dialect word hunke
Explanation
A hunk is a piece or a chunk or a lump, something without a definite shape. You might eat a hunk of cheese or play with a hunk of clay. If you call someone a hunk, you think he’s hot. For a casual dinner you might just grab a hunk of bread off the loaf and dip it in beef stew, which is full of hunks of meat and potatoes. A completely different type of hunk is a handsome man: "When did your cousin turn into such a hunk?" Hubba hubba! This second meaning dates from around 1945, from African American slang.
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.
But DC’s latest installment lands like a big hunk of Kryptonite for the dream of a superhero franchise that can transcend the genre’s clichés, Slate’s Dana Stevens writes.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026
I mop their famous gravy with a hunk of sourdough and hear Sancho Panza in my head and I grin.
From Salon • Jun. 23, 2026
Worried it was a wounded animal, she ran over only to discover it was a hunk of pork the Ostrands had left out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
He walked us over to a hunk of metal glistening by the window.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2025
Behind me a horn blares, reminding me that I am behind the wheel of a three-thousand-pound hunk of metal.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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.
