hunkered (down)

verb

past tense of hunker (down)
as in crouched
to lie low with the limbs close to the body had to hunker down so no one would see him behind the gate

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hunkered (down)
  1. crouched
  2. huddled
Verb
  • Every few feet, the cats stopped and sat on their hindquarters, or crouched down out of sight.
    — Elizabeth Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • After getting broken to fall behind 2-4 in the third, Djokovic attempted to knock a ball back to the ball boy, who was crouched beside the umpire’s chair.
    — Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of crouched
Verb
  • All around him, young men and women huddled together, warming their cold hands on hot coffee cups.
    — Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
  • One year and two days after Walker started his program in Springfield, the Cardinals huddled in the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field on July 4.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of huddled
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

hunker (down)
hunkered (down)
hunkering (down)
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Cite this Entry

“Hunkered (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hunkered%20%28down%29. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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