hunch

A feeling that something is true or will happen, even though you have no clear evidence.

• I have a hunch he is right.
• She followed her hunch and checked the old address.
• Was your hunch about the missing keys correct?

How to use it: have a hunch that… (I have a hunch that they will arrive early.); hunch about something (Her hunch about the result proved right.)

Similar words: feeling, intuition, guess

Common phrases: have a hunch, on a hunch, hunch about something

A position in which your upper body bends forward and your shoulders are raised or rounded.

• He walked with a hunch.
• Years at a low desk gave her a permanent hunch.
• The slight hunch in his posture made him look tired.

Similar words: slouch, stoop

Common phrases: with a hunch, permanent hunch, slight hunch

A raised, rounded part, especially on someone’s back.

• A hunch rose from his back.
• The coat hid the hunch between his shoulders.
• The drawing showed a large hunch above the creature’s waist.

Similar words: hump, bump, protuberance

Common phrases: hunch on something, hunch on someone, large hunch

A large, thick piece of something, especially food.

• He ate a hunch of bread.
• She cut a thick hunch of cheese.
• A hunch of bread was all he had for lunch.

How to use it: hunch of something (He shared a hunch of cheese with me.)

Similar words: chunk, hunk

Common phrases: hunch of bread, hunch of cheese, thick hunch

To bend your upper body forward with your shoulders raised or rounded.

• Do not hunch over your desk.
• She hunched forward to read the small print.
• He was hunching over his laptop all afternoon.

How to use it: hunch over something (He hunched over the map.)

Similar words: stoop, slouch

Common phrases: hunch over something, hunch forward, hunch down

To raise your shoulders or curve your body forward, often to protect yourself from cold or rain.

• He hunched his shoulders.
• She hunched her back against the cold wind.
• They hunched themselves up beneath their thin coats.

How to use it: hunch something up (He hunched his shoulders up against the wind.)

Similar words: round, raise

Common phrases: hunch your shoulders, hunch up, hunch your back

To walk with your upper body bent forward and your shoulders raised.

• He hunched across the room.
• She hunched along the road in the rain.
• The tired man hunched into the kitchen.

How to use it: hunch across/along/into somewhere (He hunched along the narrow passage.)

Similar words: shuffle, shamble

Common phrases: hunch across something, hunch along, hunch into something

To bend something, such as your back, so that a rounded part sticks out.

• The beast hunched its back.
• He hunched his back into a sharp curve.
• The creature hunched its spine until a hump rose beneath its skin.

Similar words: arch, curve, crook

Opposites: straighten

Common phrases: hunch the back, hunch into something