Meaning & use
hunkering down
Last updated
“hunkering down” is a form of “hunker down”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Settling in a safe place and staying there for a time, usually to avoid danger or wait out bad conditions.
Grammar: No object: families are hunkering down, and a place can be added with in.
Patterns
- hunker down in somewhere
- hunker down for something
Residents are hunkering down in their basements as the storm approaches.
We spent the weekend hunkering down at home with soup and books.
The team is hunkering down for a long winter of training.
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Becoming firmly set in a position or settling to work hard on a task, determined not to be moved or distracted.
Grammar: No object; often followed by to, on or for: hunker down to work.
Patterns
- hunker down to do something
- hunker down on something
The company is hunkering down and cutting costs until the market improves.
She is hunkering down to finish her thesis before the deadline.
Word forms
| base form | hunker down |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hunkers down |
| past tense and past participle | hunkered down |
| -ing form | hunkering down |
Common combinations
- hunker down for the winter
- Farmers hunker down for the winter once the snow arrives.
- hunker down at home
- People were told to hunker down at home during the blizzard.
- hunker down and wait
- The crew hunkered down and waited for the rescue boat.
- hunker down to work
- He hunkered down to work on the report all night.
- hunker down in a bunker
- They hunkered down in a bunker until the danger passed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- holing up
- Holing up suggests hiding away in a small place, while hunkering down stresses getting ready to endure something.
- sheltering
- Sheltering is more neutral and literal, simply taking cover, without the sense of settling in patiently.
- digging in
- Digging in focuses on resisting and holding a position, not on staying safe.
- batten down the hatches
- Batten down the hatches is an idiom stressing preparation before trouble, while hunker down covers the waiting itself.
Opposites
Word family
- hunker verb
- to squat or crouch low
- hunkers noun
- haunches, usually in the phrase on your hunkers
- hunker down phrasal verb
- to settle in and wait or work
Commonly confused: hunkering down or hankering?
hunkering down vs hankering
Hankering means a strong wish for something, as in a hankering for pizza, and is unrelated to hunkering.
Practice
With the hurricane only hours away, the family decided to ____ in the cellar.
Choose one answer.
Hunker down means shelter and wait out danger. Hang around means loiter, which lacks the safety sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hunkering down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.