Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense hunches, present participle hunching, past tense, past participle hunched
1. countable noun
If you have a hunch about something, you are sure that it is correct or true, even though you do not have any proof.
[informal]
I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.
Then Mr. Kamenar, acting on a hunch, ran a computer check at the Federal ElectionCommission.
Synonyms: feeling, idea, impression, suspicion More Synonyms of hunch
2. verb
If you hunch forward, you raise your shoulders, put your head down, and lean forwards, often because you are cold, ill, or unhappy.
He got out his map of Yorkshire and hunched over it to read the small print. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Synonyms: crouch, bend, stoop, curve More Synonyms of hunch
3. verb
If you hunch your shoulders, you raise them and lean forwards slightly.
Wes hunched his shoulders and leaned forward on the edge of the counter. [VERB noun]
hunch in British English
(hʌntʃ)
noun
1.
an intuitive guess or feeling
2. another word for hump
3.
a lump or large piece
verb
4.
to bend or draw (oneself or a part of the body) up or together
5. (intransitive; usually foll byup)
to sit in a hunched position
Word origin
C16: of unknown origin
hunch in American English
(hʌntʃ)
verb transitive
1.
to draw (one's body, etc.) up so as to form a hump; arch into a hump
verb intransitive
2.
to move forward jerkily; push; shove
3.
to sit or stand with the back arched
noun
4.
a hump
5.
a chunk; lump; hunk
6. US
a guess or feeling not based on known facts; premonition or suspicion
from the superstition that it brings good luck to touch a hunchback
Examples of 'hunch' in a sentence
hunch
His shoulders are hunched, eyes watchful.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His shoulders are hunched, eyes watchful.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is a sound that causes my shoulders to hunch and my heart to sink.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He had a hunch something was about to happen.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The handcuffs forced him to sit hunched forward.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Her hunched shoulders are painful to watch.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Check out those clenched fists or hunched shoulders.
The Sun (2015)
Now read on, to see if your hunch was right.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Was that shadowy figure hunched over a cigarette Him?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There are grunts and solemn nods of approval, shaken heads and hunched shoulders.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
He hunched forward, face flying low.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
When the draw was being made my dad said he had a hunch about us getting Newcastle.
The Sun (2009)
His hunch was right - but led to horrific results when the beast managed to creep up on him.
The Sun (2010)
He could use the scientific method to determine whether his hunch was correct, and whether it might really help his business.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I think my hunch was correct.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We cannot allow our young people to become malnourished, squandering their childhood and vitality hunched over computer consoles and gorging on junk food.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I have a hunch we're heading for another economic spasm.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
His lithe body was hunched over the bike, eyes sparkling, face determined.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But, sometimes, you get a hunch and you make an exception.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
We all have intuition - a gut feeling, a hunch or sometimes business instinct.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The mice sat in a row, hunched forward, looking miserable.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He was 46 this summer, the seasons of rugby written in the slightly hunched back and the stiff walk of the old warrior.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The hunched, uncertain figure I knew from domestic politics had gone.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But an irrational hunch, a feeling that you learn to trust as a biographer, compelled me to schedule an appointment for the next day.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
hunch
British English: hunch NOUN
If you have a hunch about something, you are sure that it is correct or true, even though you do not have any proof.
I had a hunch that she and I would work well together.
American English: hunch
Brazilian Portuguese: pressentimento
Chinese: 直觉
European Spanish: presentimiento
French: intuition
German: Gefühl
Italian: presentimento
Japanese: 予感
Korean: 예감
European Portuguese: pressentimento
Latin American Spanish: presentimiento
British English: hunch VERB
If you hunch forward, you raise your shoulders, put your head down, and lean forwards, often because you are cold, ill, or unhappy.
He got out his map and hunched over it to read the small print.
American English: hunch
Brazilian Portuguese: inclinar(-se)
Chinese: 直觉
European Spanish: encorvarse
French: se pencher
German: den Rücken krümmen
Italian: curvarsi
Japanese: 背を丸くする
Korean: 몸을 구부리다
European Portuguese: inclinar(-se)
Latin American Spanish: encorvarse
Chinese translation of 'hunch'
hunch
(hʌntʃ)
n(c)
(= intuition) 直觉(覺) (zhíjué) (种(種), zhǒng)
I have a hunch that ... 我的直觉(覺)是 ... (wǒ de zhíjué shì ... )
vt
to hunch one's shoulders耸(聳)起双(雙)肩 (sǒngqǐ shuāngjiān)
(noun)
Definition
a feeling or suspicion not based on facts
I had a hunch that we would work well together.
Synonyms
feeling
I have a feeling that everything will come right for us.
idea
I had an idea that he joined the army later.
impression
My impression is that they are totally out of control.
suspicion
Police had suspicions that it was not a natural death.
intuition
You can't make a case on intuitions, you know.
premonition
He had an unshakable premonition that he would die.
inkling
We had an inkling that something might be happening.
presentiment
He had a presentiment of disaster.
(verb)
Definition
to draw (oneself or one's shoulders) up or together
He hunched over the map to read the small print.
Synonyms
crouch
A man was crouching behind the bushes.
bend
Bend the bar into a horseshoe.
stoop
He stooped to pick up the carrier bag of groceries.