bunch

B1 Topic:Register & Style

US /bʌnt͡ʃ/ UK /bʌntʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #1209

Meanings

1

noun
A number of things growing or fastened together in a cluster.

He gave her a bunch of flowers for her birthday.
2

noun
A large amount or number of something.

I have a bunch of emails to answer this morning.
3

noun
An informal group of people, especially friends.

They are a friendly bunch once you get to know them.
4

verb
To gather or press closely together into a tight group.

The frightened children bunched together in the corner.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a number of things growing... cluster group

3 noun · an informal group of... circle gang group pack

4 verb · to gather or press closely... bunch upbunch together

Word family

Forms bunchedbunchesbunching

Derived forms bluebunchbunchabunchberrybuncherbunchflowerbunchgrassbunchletbunchyhoneybunchkissing-bunchmicrobunchnanobunch

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

bunch grass
grass that grows in separate clumps instead of covering the ground in a continuous layer

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

get your panties in a bunch
become unnecessarily upset or annoyed

Etymology

From Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare dialectal bung (“heap, grape bunch”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkō, *bunkô, *bungǭ (“heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ-, *bʰénǵʰus (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Bunke (“bone”), West Frisian bonke (“bone, lump, bump”), Dutch bonk (“lump, bone”), Low German Bunk (“bone”), German Bunge (“tuber”), Danish bunke (“heap, pile”), Faroese bunki (“heap, pile”); Hittite [Term?] (/⁠panku⁠/, “total, entire”), Tocharian B pkante (“volume, fatness”), Lithua…

*bʰenǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European bunche Middle English *bunkō Proto-Germanic bonge Old French bondje vls bond vls

View etymology graph ->

Topics

External links

# bunch

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /bʌnt͡ʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /bʌntʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 1209

## Meanings
1. A number of things growing or fastened together in a cluster.
2. A large amount or number of something.
3. An informal group of people, especially friends.
4. To gather or press closely together into a tight group.

## Examples
- He gave her a bunch of flowers for her birthday.
- I have a bunch of emails to answer this morning.
- They are a friendly bunch once you get to know them.
- The frightened children bunched together in the corner.

## Derived Forms
- bluebunch
- buncha
- bunchberry
- buncher
- bunchflower
- bunchgrass
- bunchlet
- bunchy
- honeybunch
- kissing-bunch
- microbunch
- nanobunch

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰenǵʰ-
- Root: bunche
- Root: *bunkō
- Root: bonge
- Root: bondje
- Root: bond

## Etymology
From Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare dialectal bung (“heap, grape bunch”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkō, *bunkô, *bungǭ (“heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ-, *bʰénǵʰus (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Bunke (“bone”), West Frisian bonke (“bone, lump, bump”), Dutch bonk (“lump, bone”), Low German Bunk (“bone”), German Bunge (“tuber”), Danish bunke (“heap, pile”), Faroese bunki (“heap, pile”); Hittite [Term?] (/⁠panku⁠/, “total, entire”), Tocharian B pkante (“volume, fatness”), Lithua…

## AI Etymology
Bunch comes from Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare dialectal bung (“heap, grape bunch”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkō, *bunkô, *bungǭ (“heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ-, *bʰénǵʰus (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Bunke (“bone”), West Frisian bonke (“bone, lump, bump”), Dutch bonk (“lump, bone”), Low German Bunk (“bone”), German Bunge (“tuber”), Danish bunke (“heap, pile”), Faroese bunki (“heap, pile”); Hittite [Term?

## Topics
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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