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hunker

 - 4 dictionary results

hun⋅ker

  [huhng-ker]
Use hunker in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to squat on one's heels (often fol. by down).
2. Informal.
a. to hunch: The driver hunkered over the steering wheel.
b. to hide, hide out, or take shelter (usually fol. by down): The escaped convicts hunkered down in a cave in the mountains.
c. to hold resolutely or stubbornly to a policy, opinion, etc., when confronted by criticism, opposition, or unfavorable circumstances (usually fol. by down): Though all the evidence was against him, he hunkered down and refused to admit his guilt.
3. Slang. to lumber along; walk or move slowly or aimlessly.
–noun
4. hunkers, one's haunches.
—Idiom
5. on one's hunkers,
a. British Informal. squatting on one's heels.
b. suffering a period of poverty, bad luck, or the like.
Origin:
1710–20; appar. hunk (perh. nasalized var. of huck haunch; akin to ON hūka to crouch) + -er 6

Hun⋅ker

  [huhng-ker]
–noun
a member of the conservative faction in the Democratic party in New York State, 1845–48.
Compare Barnburner.

Origin:
1835–45, Americanism; orig. uncert.

Related forms:
Hun⋅ker⋅ism, noun
Hun⋅ker⋅ous, adjective
Hun⋅ker⋅ous⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hunker
hun·ker   (hŭng'kər)   
intr.v.   hun·kered, hun·ker·ing, hun·kers

  1. To squat close to the ground; crouch. Usually used with down: hunkered down to avoid the icy wind.

  2. To take shelter, settle in, or hide out. Usually used with down: hunkered down in the cabin during the blizzard.

  3. To hold stubbornly to a position. Usually used with down: "As the White House hunkered down, G.O.P. congressional unity started crumbling" (Time).

n.   hunkers
The haunches.

[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hokra, to crouch.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

hunker 
"to squat, crouch," 1720, Scottish, probably from O.N. huka "to crouch," hoka, hokra "to crawl." Hunker down, Southern U.S. dialectal phrase, popularized c.1965, from northern British hunker "haunch."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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