Meaning & use
hunching
Last updated
“hunching” is a form of “hunch”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Bending the back and shoulders forward and rounding them, often with the head lowered.
Grammar: Intransitive: he is hunching. Transitive: hunching his shoulders.
Patterns
- hunch over something
- hunch your shoulders
She sat hunching over her laptop for hours.
He walked on, hunching his shoulders against the wind.
The old man was hunching by the fire.
verbintransitive
Squeezing the body into a small, crouched shape to keep warm or hide.
Grammar: Often used with up or down: hunching up in the cold.
Patterns
- hunch up
- hunch down
The kids were hunching up under a blanket.
The cat was hunching in the corner of the box.
They stood hunching down to avoid the low ceiling.
Word forms
| present | hunch |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hunches |
| past tense | hunched |
| -ing form | hunching |
Common combinations
- hunching over a desk
- He spent the day hunching over a desk.
- hunching shoulders
- She walked off, hunching her shoulders.
- hunching against the cold
- They were hunching against the cold wind.
- hunching forward
- He sat hunching forward to hear.
- hunching over a phone
- Teens are often seen hunching over a phone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slouching
- Slouching means sitting or standing with a loose, lazy droop, while hunching suggests curling inward, often from strain or cold.
- stooping
- Stooping means bending down from the waist, and hunching focuses on rounded shoulders.
- crouching
- Crouching means lowering the whole body with bent knees, which is different from just rounding the back.
- cowering
- Cowering shows fear, whereas hunching has no such implication.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hunching or haunching?
hunching vs haunching
Haunching is not standard; the word you want is hunching.
Practice
The doctor told him to stop ____ over his keyboard because it hurt his neck.
Choose one answer.
Bending forward with rounded shoulders is hunching. The other verbs look similar but have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hunching”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.