hunker down
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
In the weeks after her mother’s disappearance, Guthrie hunkered down with her siblings in Arizona while awaiting updates from investigators.
—
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026
Certainly, high winds, blinding rain and lightning are reasons for all ages to hunker down.
—Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 22 Mar. 2026
This allowed the scarlet monkeyflowers to hunker down in the drought and survive.
—Nathan Rott, NPR, 20 Mar. 2026
Instead, while there’s still snow on the ground, let’s hunker down with winter comfort for a little while longer.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hunker down
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Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026
Certainly, high winds, blinding rain and lightning are reasons for all ages to hunker down.
—Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 22 Mar. 2026
This allowed the scarlet monkeyflowers to hunker down in the drought and survive.
—Nathan Rott, NPR, 20 Mar. 2026
Instead, while there’s still snow on the ground, let’s hunker down with winter comfort for a little while longer.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hunker down
Cite this Entry
“Hunker down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunker%20down. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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