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Synonyms

hunker

1 American  
[huhng-ker] / ˈhʌŋ kər /

verb (used without object)

  1. 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.

  3. Slang. to lumber along; walk or move slowly or aimlessly.

    A small black bear was seen hunkering through the neighborhood.

noun

  1. hunkers, one's haunches.

verb phrase

  1. hunker down. hunker down.

idioms

  1. on one's hunkers,

    1. British Informal. squatting on one's heels.

    2. suffering a period of poverty, bad luck, or the like.

Hunker 2 American  
[huhng-ker] / ˈhʌŋ kər /

noun

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

hunker British  
/ ˈhʌŋkə /

verb

  1. 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

Other Word Forms

  • Hunkerism noun
  • Hunkerous adjective
  • Hunkerousness noun

Etymology

Origin of hunker1

First recorded in 1710–20; apparently hunk (perhaps nasalized variant of huck “haunch”; akin to Old Norse hūka “to crouch”) + -er 6

Origin of Hunker2

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; origin uncertain

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.

When smoke billowed from the damaged Fairmont The Palm hotel, he decided to hunker down.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Determined to survive, Iran might initially hunker down or seek to draw out any conflict.

From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026

Instead of making a run for it, he resolves to hunker down until the heat is off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

Fresh food and bread were wiped off supermarket shelves as residents prepared to hunker down, while shop owners piled sandbags in front of their stores.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025

Most of the squad hunker down in their sleeping bags.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

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.