hunch
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A theory, idea.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
huhnchIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhʌntʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A theory, idea, or guess; an intuitive impression that something will happen.
A stooped or curled posture; a slouch.
A push or thrust, as with the elbow.
A hunk; a lump; a thick piece.
A hump; a protuberance.
verb
Round one's back by bending forward and drawing the shoulders forward
intransitive
To bend the top of one's body forward while raising one's shoulders.
transitive
To push or jostle with the elbow; to push or thrust against (someone).
transitive
To thrust a hump or protuberance out of (something); to crook, as the back.
intransitive
To walk (somewhere) while hunching one's shoulders.
intransitivecolloquial
To have a hunch, or make an intuitive guess.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A theory, idea, or guess; an intuitive impression that something will happen.
Used this way, hunch is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in academic writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Round one's back by bending forward and drawing the shoulders forward.
Round one's back by bending forward and drawing the shoulders forward.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “hunch” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.