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
Marilyn SternglassA 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
Robert Kanigel
chunked; chunking; chunks
: to make a dull plunging or explosive sound
the rhythmic chunking of thrown quoits—John Updike
John Updike1
: 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
Jonathan K. FosterSynonyms
Noun
- abundance
- barrel
- basketful
- boatload
- bucket
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- deal
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- mass
- mess
- mountain
- much
- multiplicity
- myriad
- oodles
- pack
- passel
- peck
- pile
- plateful
- plenitude
- plentitude
- plenty
- pot
- potful
- profusion
- quantity
- raft
- reams
- scads
- sheaf
- shipload
- sight
- slew
- spate
- stack
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
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
Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 12 Dec. 2024
The pharmacy business garners a big chunk of revenue for health insurance companies, such as UnitedHealth Group and CVS.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024
Add their contributions to star-level performances by Smith (who exited early with a hamstring injury), Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton, and the Ravens’ defense was far less prone to chunk plays and far stingier on third down.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chunk 
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Noun
Because rental costs make up such a big chunk of overall inflation, that could pave the way for cooler inflation readings going forward.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 12 Dec. 2024
The pharmacy business garners a big chunk of revenue for health insurance companies, such as UnitedHealth Group and CVS.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
The two youngest chimps the researchers observed showed some signs of chunking.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024
Add their contributions to star-level performances by Smith (who exited early with a hamstring injury), Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton, and the Ravens’ defense was far less prone to chunk plays and far stingier on third down.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chunk
Dictionary Entries Near chunk
Cite this Entry
“Chunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chunk. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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