chunk

1 of 2

noun

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
A 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

chunk

2 of 2

verb

chunked; chunking; chunks

intransitive verb

: to make a dull plunging or explosive sound
the rhythmic chunking of thrown quoitsJohn Updike

transitive verb

1
: 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

Examples 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
Noun
The bill sought to prevent parking garage collapses like the one that took a chunk out of Bayshore mall's garage in February 2023. Claudia Levens, Journal Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2024 Mnuchin may be the founder and managing partner of Liberty Strategic Capital, but Saudi Arabia is reportedly covering a big chunk of his firm’s tab. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 The mucus plug looks like bigger chunks of gelatinous, thick, and yellowish-white liquid with a snotty consistency. Nicole Harris, Parents, 14 Mar. 2024 Some financially unsophisticated retirees invested large chunks of their life savings. Dake Kang, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 The Wall Street Journal, citing documents and sources familiar with the matter, was the first outlet to report on the investigation, more than two months after the Jan. 5 flight had to make an emergency landing after a chunk of the aircraft's cabin blew out mid-flight. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 At the house, the components of the appliances and the chunks of digital wiring forge themselves into a hulking robot, with a glitchy computer screen as its face, and this lurching Terminator is both a killer and the soul of the new machine age. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024 In India, chunks of fossilized feces, otherwise known as coprolites, show titanosaurs there ingested everything from ground-level plants all the way up to the leaves and branches of trees. Kristi Curry Rogers, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2024 All pale in comparison to the potential pairing of Nick Bosa with his older brother Joey, whose tenure with the Los Angeles Chargers could be in financial peril but also would cost the 49ers another chunk of equity. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
The American duo waged a pulsating third round battle at the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament on Saturday, and had looked on course to head into the final round level at the top before reigning US Open champion Clark chunked his first swing at the penultimate 123-yard par-three hole. Jack Bantock, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 Tip the walnuts and bread chunks onto a baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until slightly golden. The Week Uk, theweek, 14 Jan. 2024 Picked off the bone and chunked into a bowl with the green beans and their rich broth, the meat is a reminder of the soft but important boundary between special and ordinary. Eric Kim, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023 My preferred choice for best surf fishing rod for chunking is in St. Croix’s Avid series. Alberto Knie, Field & Stream, 22 June 2023 His hypothesis was that, given the rise of mobile video viewing, a sizable number of smartphone users would pay for a premium mobile TV service with content chunked into sub-10-minute episodes. Todd Spangler, Variety, 23 May 2023 And anyone who’s ever watched Fat Bear Week will certainly recognize celebears like super-mom Holly, who has regularly chunked up despite having cubs to feed too. Erin Berger, Outside Online, 2 Oct. 2019 Love you more than chunking express, or Denis Johnson’s already dead, or the stooges’ raw power. Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 11 Apr. 2023 Love you more than chunking express, or Denis Johnson's already dead, or the stooges' raw power. Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chunk.' 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

Noun

perhaps alteration of chuck short piece of wood

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Noun

1691, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1890, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of chunk was in 1691

Dictionary Entries Near chunk

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

chunk

noun
ˈchəŋk
1
: a short thick piece or lump
2
: a large amount or part
a chunk of money

More from Merriam-Webster on chunk

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