Meaning & use
hunker down
To settle into a low, protected position, or to prepare to stay somewhere and wait out a difficult situation.
See it in a sentence
Residents were told to hunker down at home as the storm approached the coast.
The team hunkered down in the library for a long night of studying before exams.
A note on using this word
Hunker down is informal and often used both literally, for crouching or sheltering, and figuratively, for settling in to endure something.
Words with a similar meaning
sheltertake cover
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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