hunch

Plural: hunches

Noun

an impression that something might be the case
the act of bending yourself into a humped position
A hump; a protuberance.
A stooped or curled posture; a slouch.
A theory, idea, or guess; an intuitive impression that something will happen.
A hunk; a lump; a thick piece.
A push or thrust, as with the elbow.

Verb

Verb Forms: hunched, hunching, hunches

To bend one's body into a humped or curved position.
round one's back by bending forward and drawing the shoulders forward
To bend the top of one's body forward while raising one's shoulders.
To raise (one's shoulders) (while lowering one's head or bending the top of one's body forward); to curve (one's body) forward (sometimes followed by up).
To walk (somewhere) while hunching one's shoulders.
To thrust a hump or protuberance out of (something); to crook, as the back.
To push or jostle with the elbow; to push or thrust against (someone).
To have a hunch, or make an intuitive guess.

Examples

a hunch of bread
Don't hunch over your computer if you want to avoid neck problems.
He hunched up his shoulders and stared down at the ground.
He would hunch over the board, scrutinizing every empty space for a bingo in Scrabble.
I have a hunch they'll find a way to solve the problem.
The old man walked with a hunch.
They stood outside the door hunching themselves against the rain and puffing on their cigarettes.

Origin / Etymology

Assibilated variant of hunk, of uncertain origin.
Alternatively, a derivative of hump, via an earlier Middle English *hunche, *humpchin, from *hump + -chin, -chen (diminutive suffix), equivalent to hump + -kin. In the sense of an intuitive impression, said to be from the old gambling superstition that it brings luck to touch the hump of a hunchback.

Synonyms

hump, hunch forward, hunch over, intuition, suspicion, clue, elbow, hint, inkling, lean, nudge, slouch, stoop

Scrabble Score: 13

hunch: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
hunch: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hunch: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

hunch: valid Words With Friends Word