hunky
1 Americanadjective
noun
plural
hunkiesEtymology
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Everything was hunky dory," he said.
From BBC
Other sports are full of hunky types, and football and basketball players are more likely to have all their teeth.
At the end of the performance, the duo threw dozens of heart-shaped pillows into the audience, all containing the phrase "te amo", supposedly stitched by their hunky counterparts.
From BBC
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
Everybody thought we were lying - this place was all hunky dory.
From BBC
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.