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
Simple pleasure in reading, the childhood delight of hunkering down with a good book and a warm bagel on my chest, sitting sideways on a sunken armchair with my head on its arm, no longer felt possible.
—
Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
As Israeli fighter jets cut across the skies to their target, Netanyahu hunkered down in the Shin Bet’s Special Operations Command Center in central Israel.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Students ran and hid, hunkering down in classrooms behind locked doors.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 11 Sep. 2025
The kids with the balls spent all that time hunkered down on the stairs, laying low and waiting to be allowed back to their seats.
—The Athletic Tennis Staff, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hunker down
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Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
As Israeli fighter jets cut across the skies to their target, Netanyahu hunkered down in the Shin Bet’s Special Operations Command Center in central Israel.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Students ran and hid, hunkering down in classrooms behind locked doors.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 11 Sep. 2025
The kids with the balls spent all that time hunkered down on the stairs, laying low and waiting to be allowed back to their seats.
—The Athletic Tennis Staff, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
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 18 Sep. 2025.
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