Meaning & use

hunch

noun·Everyday

A feeling or guess about something based on intuition rather than solid facts or evidence.

See it in a sentence

She had a hunch that the missing keys were somewhere in the coat she'd worn yesterday.

Acting on a hunch, the detective returned to the abandoned warehouse for a second look.

A note on using this word

As a verb, hunch means to bend the shoulders and back forward, as in hunch over a desk, an unrelated physical sense.

Words with a similar meaning

intuitionfeeling

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. verb

To bend the body forward, rounding the back and shoulders, often from tiredness or to peer closely at something.

He hunched over his laptop for hours, trying to finish the report before midnight.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “hunch”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.