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.

2. 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.

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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.

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hunker British  

/ ˈhʌŋkə /

verb

1. to squat; crouch

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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

Many people here are just hunkering down and waiting, hoping for better times.

From BBC

During the early pandemic, a peculiar optimism bloomed among those hunkering into lockdown.

From Salon

"I went over and there were quite a few people there at that point. They were trying to coax them out the car but they had hunkered down and were trying to sleep."

From BBC

Still, with below-freezing temperatures across parts of the country, viewers hunkered down and stayed tuned in to the game.

From The Wall Street Journal

Epstein replied, “Nothing to do during a storm, but hunker down, and wait until it blows over.”

From The Wall Street Journal