hunch

1 of 2

verb

ˈhənch 

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 cronies …

—Mary 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 forward

—Tennessee Williams

intransitive verb

1

: to thrust oneself forward

… hunched along for a short spell of safe steps.

—T. B. Costain

2

a

: to assume a bent or crooked posture

… folded his hands on the table and hunched forward …

—Hugh MacLennan

b

: to draw oneself into a ball : curl up

… hunch beneath the covers …

—Randall Jarrell

c

: huddle, squat

We hunched close to the damp earth …

—H. D. Skidmore

the mountains hunched around the valley

—Helen 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 foot.

—Abraham Tucker

2

a

: a thick piece : lump

… barter it for a hunch of cake …

—Flora Thompson

b

: a rounded mass : hump

… his back carried a huge hunch …

—William Scoresby

3

: a strong intuitive feeling concerning especially a future event or result

had a hunch I would find you here

Synonyms of hunch

Verb

• crouch
• huddle

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

Sandra Ogbebor hunches over her softly humming refrigerator and scours through bottles before finally yanking out an orange juice. — Light Oriye Tamunotonye, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Sep. 2026

Once home, hunched over a Nespresso, Tracey attended to the buildup on her iPhone, saving Lois’s WhatsApp voice note till last. — Helen Simpson, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

Noun

Give him a government database or a spreadsheet with millions of rows, and Maines could find the nugget — the pattern that suggested something amiss, the anomaly hidden in ordinary transactions, the numbers that turned a hunch into proof. — Sally Kestin, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026

But with the talented dual-threat QB healthy and a more seasoned Sooners front, the hunch here is that OU will be much improved on offense in 2026. — Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

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

Phrases Containing hunch

• have a hunch

Rhymes for hunch

• brunch
• bunch
• chinch
• crunch
• lunch
• punch
• keypunch

Kids Definition

hunch

1 of 2 verb

ˈhənch 

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

: hump entry 1 sense 1

2

: a strong feeling about what will happen : intuition