bunker

1 of 2

noun

bun·​ker ˈbəŋ-kər How to pronounce bunker (audio)
1
: a bin or compartment for storage
especially : one on shipboard for the ship's fuel
2
a
: a protective embankment or dugout
especially : a fortified chamber mostly below ground often built of reinforced concrete and provided with embrasures
b
: a sand trap or embankment constituting a hazard on a golf course

bunker

2 of 2

verb

bunkered; bunkering ˈbəŋ-k(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce bunker (audio)

intransitive verb

: to fill a ship's bunker with coal or oil

transitive verb

1
: to place or store in a bunker
2
: to hit (a golf ball or shot) into a bunker

Examples of bunker in a Sentence

Noun The ammunition is stored in concrete bunkers. Verb She bunkered her tee shot. They bunkered just enough coal to get them to the port.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Scott Peterson/Getty Images/The Christian Science Monitor Humor in a dark bunker Some miles away, a 120 mm mortar position is carefully hidden among trenches in the forest. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Mar. 2024 Cantlay found a fairway bunker to the right off the tee, blasted out to wedge range and his shot to a front pin came off the green. Doug Ferguson, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2024 Unpredictable weather, combined with the deep bunkers and challenging greens, makes St. Andrews a formidable test. The Arizona Republic, 13 Feb. 2024 In her view, the bunkers ought to be protected not just against revelry, but against flora and fauna as well. Rebecca Panovka, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 Mark Zuckerberg and family are building an underground bunker. Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2024 Not far away, a discreet passageway descends to a subterranean bunker where teams of Ukrainian soldiers track Russian spy satellites and eavesdrop on conversations between Russian commanders. Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024 Two Russian artillery rounds land nearby, forcing the soldiers to race to frigid bunkers dug underground. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Feb. 2024 The drama series is set as World War III is about to break out, leading a group of multimillionaires to take refuge in a luxury bunker. Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2024
Verb
The 2012 49ers bunkered at a French Quarter hotel in New Orleans before falling to the Baltimore Ravens 34-31. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2024 As the game lurched into the 70th and then 80th minute, Phoenix seemed content to bunker in a five-man back line and weather the San Diego storm. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2023 Several agencies are assisting with medical evacuations and conducting welfare checks as locals emerge after bunkering down amid Idalia. NBC News, 31 Aug. 2023 Vietnam will bunker against superior rivals and rely on the counter and getting the ball to forwards Nhu and Pham Hai Yen. John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2023 In recent years, Vladimir Putin has run much of his Presidency in the most splendid isolation, bunkered away in palaces from the wooded suburbs of Moscow to the shore of the Black Sea. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 24 June 2023 For the first three days of Sudan’s latest eruption of armed conflict, the 23-year-old dental student bunkered in his apartment in Khartoum, watching the fighting rage close to his neighborhood in the Sudanese capital but feeling relatively unconcerned. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2023 After spending the past five months bunkered at the league’s hub in Texas, Buckley had time to reflect on the twists and turns of a 10-week season that ended with a 1-9 record. Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2023 Kelly denounced the tweet as harming a marginalized community, while Musk bunkered down in the Twitter reply trenches. Julia Malleck, Quartz, 19 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bunker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Scots bonker chest, box

First Known Use

Noun

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1886, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bunker was in 1839

Dictionary Entries Near bunker

Cite this Entry

“Bunker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bunker. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bunker

noun
bun·​ker
ˈbəŋ-kər
1
: a large bin (as for coal or oil on a ship)
2
: a shelter dug into the ground and made strong against attack
3

Biographical Definition

Bunker

biographical name

Bun·​ker ˈbəŋ-kər How to pronounce Bunker (audio)
Ellsworth 1894–1984 American diplomat
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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