hunch

1 of 2

verb

hunched; hunching; hunches

transitive verb

1
: to push or put (someone or something) in a rough, careless, or hasty manner : thrust, shove
I would hunch my chair … closer to my dear and only croniesMary Nash
2
: to thrust or bend (someone or something) over into a humped or crooked position
hunched his shoulders as he headed out into the storm
sat hunched over the table reading a map
kept his … body hunched slightly forwardTennessee Williams

intransitive verb

1
: to thrust oneself forward
hunched along for a short spell of safe stepsT. B. Costain
2
a
: to assume a bent or crooked posture
folded his hands on the table and hunched forwardHugh MacLennan
b
: to draw oneself into a ball : curl up
hunch beneath the coversRandall Jarrell
c
: huddle, squat
we hunched close to the damp earthH. D. Skidmore
the mountains hunched around the valleyHelen Rich

hunch

2 of 2

noun

1
: an act or instance of pushing someone or something in a rough or careless manner : an act or instance of hunching (see hunch entry 1 sense transitive)
give him a good hunch with your footAbraham Tucker
2
a
: a thick piece : lump
barter it for a hunch of cakeFlora Thompson
b
: a rounded mass : hump
his back carried a huge hunchWilliam Scoresby
3
: a strong intuitive feeling concerning especially a future event or result
had a hunch I would find you here

Examples of hunch in a Sentence

Verb He hunched his shoulders as he headed out into the storm. he hunched next to a bush to avoid being seen Noun My hunch is that the stock is going to go up in value. “How did you know I'd be here?” “It was just a hunch.”
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Lindsay Gottlieb hunched over the back of USC forward Rayah Marshall’s chair as ESPN ticked off names. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 People who nodded off and died after taking opioids are often found hunched over with their legs curled under them. Natalie Kitroeff Meridith Kohut, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Perhaps before a crowd, pulsing to chants and drumbeats, these oracle-like figures hunched over a heap of radiant red powder. Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 Photos show groups of them staring, enraptured, at mundane pieces of infrastructure or studiously hunching over their notebooks as they are lectured about the greatness of China’s achievements. Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2024 Several hundred North Korean women dressed in red uniforms, plastic aprons, and white rubber boots stood shoulder to shoulder at long metal tables under harsh lights, hunched over plastic baskets of seafood, slicing and sorting products by hand. Ian Urbina, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024 After making their way through some photo ops and video interviews, the winners take to the (much smaller) stage in the press room to field a few questions from the reporters who are assembled elbow-to-elbow and hunched over their laptops. Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2024 When Romeo hunches over, Sorrentino springs into action by lifting and patting him on the back to dislodge the pasta from his airway. Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 5 Feb. 2024 Their altercation continued until the 19-year-old hunched over and fell to the ground. Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 23 Jan. 2024
Noun
No authoritative forward tilt or imposing hunch of shoulder. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2024 Trust your hunch in a financial matter as the moon and Uranus harmonize. USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2024 If your hunch was on point, Graye says, the dish should be entirely remade, not just heated up in the oven or microwave. Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 6 Feb. 2024 My hunch is that the filaments of Cal X are indeed serving as cosmic umbilical cords to the stars being formed in the region. Nia Imara, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024 Yu’s team employed a novel strategy to find out if that hunch was correct by calculating a lower bound from first principles. Steve Nadis, Quanta Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024 Treatment on the Horizon? To test their hunch, the scientists turned to mice suffering from spine hypersensitivity caused either by old age or lumbar spine instability. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 That said, our hunch is both programs will do the majority of their roster reloading in the spring, because a new flock of players will have entered in the April window. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 19 Jan. 2024 Other observations validate my hunches about the role that portion sizes and food volume play in keeping waistlines so trim here. Suzanne Havala Hobbs, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hunch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hunch was in 1581

Dictionary Entries Near hunch

Cite this Entry

“Hunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunch. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hunch

1 of 2 verb
1
: to push oneself forward by jerks
hunch nearer the fire
2
: to bend one's body into an arch or hump
were hunched over the table
3
: to draw up close together or into an arch
hunched my shoulders

hunch

2 of 2 noun
1
2
: a strong feeling about what will happen : intuition

More from Merriam-Webster on hunch

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