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hunker

[ huhng-ker ]
/ ˈhʌŋ kər /
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verb (used without object)
to crouch or squat on one's heels: He hunkered to be at eye level with his dog.I can’t hunker with this bad knee.
  1. to hunch: The driver hunkered over the steering wheel.
  2. to hide, hide out, or take shelter, often for just a few hours or less, as from a pursuer or a storm: The escaped convicts hunkered in a cave in the mountains.
  3. to settle in to the safety of one’s home or other designated shelter for a potentially prolonged time, as would be necessitated by a natural disaster or an outbreak of a contagious disease: Many local residents hunkered in the basement of the fire station.
Slang. to lumber along; walk or move slowly or aimlessly: A small black bear was seen hunkering through the neighborhood.
noun
hunkers, one's haunches.
Verb Phrases
hunker down. See entry at hunker down.
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Idioms about hunker

    on one's hunkers,
    1. British Informal. squatting on one's heels.
    2. suffering a period of poverty, bad luck, or the like.

Origin of hunker

First recorded in 1710–20; apparently hunk (perhaps nasalized variant of huck “haunch”; akin to Old Norse hūka “to crouch”) + -er6

Other definitions for hunker (2 of 2)

Hunker
[ huhng-ker ]
/ ˈhʌŋ kər /

noun
a member of the conservative faction in the Democratic Party in New York State, 1845–48.

Origin of Hunker

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; origin uncertain

OTHER WORDS FROM Hunker

Hun·ker·ism, nounHun·ker·ous, adjectiveHun·ker·ous·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hunker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hunker

hunker
/ (ˈhʌŋkə) /

verb
(intr often foll by down) to squat; crouch
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
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