hunker
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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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.
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to hunch.
The driver hunkered over the steering wheel.
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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.
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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.
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Slang. to lumber along; walk or move slowly or aimlessly.
A small black bear was seen hunkering through the neighborhood.
noun
verb phrase
idioms
noun
verb
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.
Several dogs were there, too, hunkering down with their owners.
From Barron's
Determined to survive, Iran might initially hunker down or seek to draw out any conflict.
From Barron's
Determined to survive, Iran might initially hunker down or seek to draw out any conflict.
From Barron's
A little more than 35 years ago, on Jan. 13, 1991, Mr. Landsbergis was hunkered down in the Lithuanian parliament in Vilnius in a bulletproof vest waiting for Soviet forces to storm the building.
The couple hunkered down with 15 other people, including a man in his 80s and a mother with her 1-year-old daughter.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
