hunker down
phrasal verb
hunkered down; hunkering down; hunkers down
chiefly US
1
: to lower the body to the ground by bending the legs
The hikers hunkered down under a cliff until the storm passed.
2
: to stay in a place for a period of time
The leaders hunkered down at a country estate for difficult peace negotiations.
Examples of hunker down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After allowing three goals during the first two periods of Game 2, the Russian netminder hunkered down and stopped 32 consecutive shots from the third period until the conclusion of the game.
—
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 8 May 2024
After beating Brown at Columbia University, the Bulldogs hunkered down at the Yale Club in Manhattan to watch the Selection Show Sunday, and their coaches were watching film of Auburn on the bus back to New Haven.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2024
The researchers monitored the conditions in which the tardigrades hunkered down and found that free radicals did seem to induce the tun state, although the mechanism was not yet clear.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 17 Jan. 2024
Now given the choice of traveling with COVID or hunkering down and isolating, which could cost thousands of dollars in hotel fees, room-service meals, missed work, and child care, many choose to fly infected with the coronavirus.
—Jen Murphy, Outside Online, 27 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for hunker down 
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 8 May 2024
After beating Brown at Columbia University, the Bulldogs hunkered down at the Yale Club in Manhattan to watch the Selection Show Sunday, and their coaches were watching film of Auburn on the bus back to New Haven.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2024
The researchers monitored the conditions in which the tardigrades hunkered down and found that free radicals did seem to induce the tun state, although the mechanism was not yet clear.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 17 Jan. 2024
Now given the choice of traveling with COVID or hunkering down and isolating, which could cost thousands of dollars in hotel fees, room-service meals, missed work, and child care, many choose to fly infected with the coronavirus.
—Jen Murphy, Outside Online, 27 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for hunker down
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hunker down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hunker down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunker%20down. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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