What does hunkering mean?
Hunkering means having a strong, persistent desire for something, especially food or drink. The word is informal and commonly occurs in expressions such as “hunker for,” as in “I’m hunkering for breakfast,” giving it a vivid, expectant quality rather than the mild casualness of simply wanting something. It can also retain the older, less common sense of crouching or sitting low, a continuation of the verb hunker’s original meaning. In modern use, hunkering often suggests an appetite so definite that food has begun to feel like the inevitable solution. The word is especially associated with North American informal English, though it is understandable throughout English-speaking communities. It is useful because it turns an ordinary desire into something tangible and urgent: hunger becomes not merely a lack but a craving with direction and persistence.
verb (present participle and gerund of hunker)To have a strong, persistent desire for something, especially food or drink; to crave it. In a less common older sense, to crouch or sit low.
- To have an intense or persistent desire for something, especially food or drink.
- To crouch or sit low, in the less common continuation of the older sense of hunker.
"By noon, we were hunkering for something substantial."
"After the long morning hike, we were hunkering for a large breakfast."
"The runner hunkered down behind the stone wall as the wind swept across the field."
Hunkering is hunger with a destination.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hunkering come from?
Hunkering is the present participle of hunker. Hunker appeared in the late seventeenth century with the sense of squatting or crouching and had developed the figurative sense of eagerly desiring something by the early nineteenth century. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, although it has often been linked to Dutch hunken and German hunkeln; related English words include hunch and hunchback.
How hunkering is actually used
Informal and especially associated with North American English. In modern use, it is often more emphatic and vivid than simply wanting something; the crouching sense is uncommon and sounds old-fashioned.
Easily confused with hunkering
To hunker for something means to crave it, whereas to hunker down means to crouch or squat low.
Hankering commonly names a strong desire and can function as a noun or verb, while hunkering is especially used as an informal verb describing an eager, often food-related craving.