chunk

1 of 2

noun

1
: a short thick piece or lump (as of wood or coal)
2
: a large noteworthy quantity or part
bet a sizable chunk of money on the race
3
: a strong thickset horse usually smaller than a draft horse
4
psychology : a unit of information retained in the memory and easily recalled
The process of memorizing may be simply the formation of chunks, or groups of items that go together, until there are few enough chunks so that we can recall all the items.Marilyn Sternglass
A chunk represents a recoding of information. For example, the sequence 149217761941 would, for most of us, be a snap to remember. Almost automatically we'd recode the 12 digits into three chunks, 1492, 1776, 1941, all key dates in US history.Robert Kanigel

chunk

2 of 2

verb

chunked; chunking; chunks

intransitive verb

: to make a dull plunging or explosive sound
the rhythmic chunking of thrown quoitsJohn Updike

transitive verb

1
: to mishit (a golf ball or shot) by striking the ground behind the ball
2
psychology : to organize (separate units of information) into a single large unit that is retained in the memory and easily recalled
To recall a 10-digit telephone number, for instance, a person could chunk the digits into three groups: the area code (such as 021), then a three-digit chunk (639) and a four-digit chunk (4345).Jonathan K. Foster

Examples of chunk in a Sentence

Noun She cut the fruit into large chunks. She spends a good chunk of her day on the phone. He devoted a large chunk of time to the project.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Separate the chunks of meat from the vegetables and set the meat aside. Lynda Balslev, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 Break Leagues Cup into chunks Net gain: 2 weeks The biggest scheduling problem with the Leagues Cup is that teams who don’t advance can have as much as three idle weeks before their domestic seasons resume. Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 However, the biggest chunk of the non-fatal airplane incidents in the region were related to landing gear collapse. Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024 Another chunk goes to direct costs — the cookies themselves, and transportation. Bill Chappell, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024 Apparently when a homemade snail shell isn’t available, a store bought chunk of plastic will do. Popsci Staff, Popular Science, 28 Feb. 2024 The unusual project was born from worries over climate change and the sea level rise that will inevitably encroach on Alcatraz, where chunks of the perimeter wall are already eroding and falling into the bay. Heather Knight, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Still there’s a sense that, on Gaza, Biden has gotten on the wrong side of a chunk of his base. Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 27 Feb. 2024 Finishing in that chunk of the Pac-12 standings would give UCLA a bye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament next month, requiring one fewer game to win the event and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
Verb
Tip the walnuts and bread chunks onto a baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until slightly golden. The Week Uk, theweek, 14 Jan. 2024 Picked off the bone and chunked into a bowl with the green beans and their rich broth, the meat is a reminder of the soft but important boundary between special and ordinary. Eric Kim, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023 My preferred choice for best surf fishing rod for chunking is in St. Croix’s Avid series. Alberto Knie, Field & Stream, 22 June 2023 His hypothesis was that, given the rise of mobile video viewing, a sizable number of smartphone users would pay for a premium mobile TV service with content chunked into sub-10-minute episodes. Todd Spangler, Variety, 23 May 2023 And anyone who’s ever watched Fat Bear Week will certainly recognize celebears like super-mom Holly, who has regularly chunked up despite having cubs to feed too. Erin Berger, Outside Online, 2 Oct. 2019 Love you more than chunking express, or Denis Johnson’s already dead, or the stooges’ raw power. Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 11 Apr. 2023 Love you more than chunking express, or Denis Johnson's already dead, or the stooges' raw power. Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2023 He's developed this ability to chunk stuff. Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 14 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chunk.' 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

perhaps alteration of chuck short piece of wood

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Noun

1691, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1890, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of chunk was in 1691

Dictionary Entries Near chunk

Cite this Entry

“Chunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chunk. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chunk

noun
ˈchəŋk
1
: a short thick piece or lump
2
: a large amount or part
a chunk of money

More from Merriam-Webster on chunk

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