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.
See Examples For:
The site is now a hunk of twisted and blackened metal, surrounding a charred carcass of rubble.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
You start with an ugly hunk of something, a phrase or an idea you’ve tripped over.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
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
A hunk of romaine was easy pickings for Porkchop and her three flippers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
She turned to Big Ma and said, “Daughter, stir those grits up right. Extra hunk of butter—good butter from McDaniels’s farm,” she felt the need to add.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
There is so much demand for these hunks of carbon fiber that bats have entered the stratosphere of products known in the retail industry as “high heat.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
Aged gray tree hunks form arches, for instance, over bridges that tower over clay-colored paths with hoof prints.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
You can go maximalist — an Alison Roman–style ham party, complete with pickled vegetables, fancy mustard and crusty bread — or you can go blissfully minimal with a giant sub sliced into generous hunks.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2026
When I finally nailed a roast chicken — buttered and oiled, stuffed with lemon wedges and hunks of onion and fennel — I felt like a goddess.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
By the fourth day, the porridge was glistening with fat, and great hunks of meat and colorful vegetables were steaming on top.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
