<p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used without object) to crouch or squat on one's heels: He hunkered to be at eye level with his dog.</li><li>I can’t hunker with this bad knee.</li><li>to hunch: The driver hunkered over the steering wheel.</li><li>to hide, hide out, or take shelter, often for just a few hours or less, as from a pursuer or a storm: The escaped convicts hunkered in a cave in the mountains.</li><li>to settle in to the safety of one’s home or other designated shelter for a potentially prolonged time, as would be necessitated by a natural disaster or an outbreak of a contagious disease: Many local residents hunkered in the basement of the fire station.</li><li>Slang: to lumber along; walk or move slowly or aimlessly: A small black bear was seen hunkering through the neighborhood.</li></ul><p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>hunkers, one's haunches.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb Phrase</strong></p><ul><li>hunker down.</li></ul>