Jump To:

• hunker
  hunker

  verb (used without object)

  to crouch or squat on one's heels.
• Hunker
  Hunker

  noun

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

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.

---

noun

1. hunkers, one's haunches.

verb phrase

1. hunker down. see 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

---

Other Word Forms

• Hunkerism
  noun
• Hunkerousness
  noun
• Hunkerous
  adjective

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

Explanation

To hunker is to crouch: to bend your body into a low, small shape. When you're playing hide and seek, you may decide to hunker in the back of a closet until you're found. You hunker physically when you're hiding or making space for other people or squatting to talk to a small child. You can also hunker figuratively, like when you hunker down in your house during a snowstorm, waiting to venture out until the roads have been plowed. Another way to hunker down is to focus on a task and work extra hard. We know hunker is a Scottish word, but beyond that its origins aren't clear.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hunker Hunker

Jump into an affordable public pool or hunker down at a public library, free museum, or one of the city’s public cooling centers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

“If there is no future that includes a path for them right now, their better option is to hunker down.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

That includes using drones for tasks that once would have required sending a soldier to the danger zone, having troops hunker down in underground bunkers, and increasing efforts to evade detection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026

On these artificial hills, people hunker down to watch what’s happening.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

“Get to him discreetly. Hunker down. And then fly right back and go to set. Just rinse and repeat, constantly.”

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022

Hunker down with a bowl of this flavorful and uber-easy soup recipe that will keep you satisfied on those single-degree days.

From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2021

“Just go back home. Don’t worry about it. Hunker down.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2017

“Those opportunities have largely vanished,” said David Hunker, head of shareholder activism defense at J.P.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2017

Hunker reported that they had discovered no trace of the missing man.

From Frank Merriwell's Son A Chip Off the Old Block by Burt L. Standish