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   Hunch

   /hən(t)SH/

   

   verb

   • 1. raise (one's shoulders) and bend the top of one's body forward: "he thrust his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders" Similar archcurvehumpbendbowcurlcrookcrouchhuddle upcurl uphunker downbendstoopsquatinformal:scoochOpposite straightenstretch out
   • ▪ bend one's body into a huddled position: "I hunched up as small as I could"
   • ▪ shove or push; nudge: "she hunched me and winked"

   noun

   • 1. a feeling or guess based on intuition rather than known facts: "she was acting on a hunch" Similar feelingguesssuspicionsneaking suspicionimpressioninklingideanotionfancypresentimentpremonitionintuitioninformal:gut feelingfeeling in one's bonesfunny feelingsixth sense
   • 2. a humped position or thing: "the hunch of his back" Similar protuberancehumplumpbumpknobprotrusionprominenceprojectionbulgeswellingnodulenodemassgrowthoutgrowthexcrescencerare:tumescencetumefactionintumescence
   • 3. a thick piece; a hunk: dialect "a hunch of bread"

   Word Origin late 15th century: of unknown origin. The original meaning was ‘push, shove’ (noun and verb), a sense retained now in Scots as a noun, and in US dialect as a verb. Sense 1 of the noun derives probably from a US sense of the verb ‘nudge someone in order to draw attention to something’.

   Scrabble Points: 13

   • H

     4

   • U

     1

   • N

     1

   • C

     3

   • H

     4

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