What does chunk mean?
A chunk is a thick, solid piece that has been cut or broken away from something larger — a slab of chocolate, a wedge of wood, a lump of ice. Beyond its concrete sense, the word extends naturally to any sizeable division of a greater whole: a chunk of one's salary, a chunk of the afternoon, or, in computing, a chunk of data processed as a single unit. The word carries no strong connotations; it is matter-of-fact and slightly colloquial, suggesting bulkiness and substance rather than refinement. It first appeared in English around the late seventeenth century, apparently arising in North America, though its precise origins remain uncertain. Its modern usefulness owes much to this flexibility: cooks speak of chunked vegetables, programmers of chunked transfers, and investors of chunks of their portfolio. Few words so plainly bridge the physical and the abstract — wherever something large needs dividing into manageable pieces, 'chunk' is the natural term.
A thick, solid piece cut or broken from a larger mass; figuratively, a substantial portion of a larger quantity such as money, time, or data.
"He broke off a chunk of bread and dipped it in the soup."
Commonly used of food ('pineapple chunks') and, since the twentieth century, of blocks of computer data.
(Informal) To cut, break, or divide something into chunks.
"Chunk the melon into bite-sized pieces before chilling it."
Standard regular plural; often used with foodstuffs ('chunks of chicken') or data units.
"The stew simmered with big chunks of potato and carrot."
In computing, 'chunk' became so fundamental that an entire file format convention — the way data gets packaged inside files like PNG images and MP3s — is literally called 'chunking'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chunk
'Chunk' emerged in English in the late seventeenth century and is generally considered an Americanism, though its ultimate derivation is genuinely obscure. Some lexicographers have suggested it arose as an alteration of the older word 'chuck', while others connect it to 'chock', the wooden block used to secure moving objects; no account is universally accepted. What is certain is that by the nineteenth century it was firmly established in American usage as a synonym for a thick piece or lump, and it later acquired its figurative and computing senses.
Related word forms
How chunk is actually used
Informal to neutral in register; common in everyday speech and in technical writing about computing, where 'chunk' names a unit of divided data. In American slang, 'a big chunk of change' denotes a sizable sum of money.
Easily confused with chunk
A chump is a foolish or gullible person, whereas a chunk is simply a thick piece or portion of something.
The two words overlap heavily as both mean a large piece, but 'hunk' typically implies a rough, hand-held piece of food or material, while 'chunk' also serves as the standard computing term for a block of data.