hunky

¹ American  

[huhng-kee] / ˈhʌŋ ki /

adjective

Slang.

1. satisfactory; well; all right.

2. even; leaving no balance.

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hunky ² American  

[huhng-kee] / ˈhʌŋ ki /

adjective

hunkier, hunkiest

1. Slang. (of a male) handsome and having well-developed physique.

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hunky ³ American  

[huhng-kee] / ˈhʌŋ ki /

Or hunkie

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

plural

hunkies

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person of Hungarian or Slavic descent, especially an unskilled or semiskilled worker.

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Etymology

Origin of hunky¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; from obsolete New York City slang term hunk, used especially by boys at play for home base, home (the goal); from Dutch honk “post, station, base, home” + -y ¹ ( def. ); hunky-dory ( def. )

Origin of hunky²

First recorded in 1910–15; hunk + -y ¹

Origin of hunky³

First recorded in 1905–10; (bo)hunk ( def. ) + -y ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

He’s both movie-star hunky and action-star engrossing, flitting between these two deceptively binary ends without breaking a sweat.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

One was the awestruck girl from the South discovering New York City for the first time, another was the hunky model, aspiring actor, and so on.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Though O’Brien is flexing his emotional range here, his hunky sincerity lands in part because Sweeney remains steady in the opposite registry.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025

Everybody thought we were lying - this place was all hunky dory.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2025

“Thank you, sir. Sir—” “Don’t mention it. How do you like living out there in the woods, Chaplain? Is everything hunky dory?”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• attractive
• handsome
• well-built