1
: a short thick piece or lump (as of wood or coal)
2
: a large noteworthy quantity or part
bet a sizable chunk of money on the race
3
: a strong thickset horse usually smaller than a draft horse
4
psychology
: a unit of information retained in the memory and easily recalled
The process of memorizing may be simply the formation of chunks, or groups of items that go together, until there are few enough chunks so that we can recall all the items.—
Marilyn Sternglass
Marilyn SternglassA chunk represents a recoding of information. For example, the sequence 149217761941 would, for most of us, be a snap to remember. Almost automatically we'd recode the 12 digits into three chunks, 1492, 1776, 1941, all key dates in US history.—Robert Kanigel
Robert Kanigel
chunked; chunking; chunks
: to make a dull plunging or explosive sound
the rhythmic chunking of thrown quoits—John Updike
John Updike1
: to mishit (a golf ball or shot) by striking the ground behind the ball
2
psychology
: to organize (separate units of information) into a single large unit that is retained in the memory and easily recalled
To recall a 10-digit telephone number, for instance, a person could chunk the digits into three groups: the area code (such as 021), then a three-digit chunk (639) and a four-digit chunk (4345).—Jonathan K. Foster
Jonathan K. FosterExamples of chunk in a Sentence
Noun
She cut the fruit into large chunks.
She spends a good chunk of her day on the phone.
He devoted a large chunk of time to the project.
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
In 1978, Wenner sold the magazine to Larry Burke, a young man from Chicago who had spent a chunk of his twenties vagabonding around Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2025
The Evolution Of Document Ingestion The foundation of modern retrieval systems starts with document chunking: breaking down large documents into manageable pieces.
—Meghana Puvvadi, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chunk
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Noun
Mitchell spent a chunk of the game defending Hawks star guard Trae Young, limiting him to just two field-goal attempts while guarding him for six minutes of game clock, according to NBA tracking stats.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
In 1978, Wenner sold the magazine to Larry Burke, a young man from Chicago who had spent a chunk of his twenties vagabonding around Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
Pineapple Casserole Ingredients Canned pineapple: Some of our readers use chunked, crushed, or a mix of both.
—Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2025
The Evolution Of Document Ingestion The foundation of modern retrieval systems starts with document chunking: breaking down large documents into manageable pieces.
—Meghana Puvvadi, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chunk
Cite this Entry
“Chunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chunk. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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