What does "bunch" mean?
A group of similar things, either growing together, or in a cluster or clump, usually fastened together.
Bunch
/bʌnt͡ʃ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A group of similar things, either growing together, or in a cluster or clump, usually fastened together.
- Grammar: bunch is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cluster, crowd, a mass of, a world of.
- Useful contrasts: disband, disperse, few.
- Usage evidence: Years ago, she used to hang around with a bunch of bikers.
How to use "bunch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bunch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bunch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bunch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bunch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bunch" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cluster" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bunch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A group of similar things, either growing together, or in a cluster or clump, usually fastened together.
"a bunch of grapes"
- 2 any collection in its entirety wordnet
- 3 The peloton; the main group of riders formed during a race.
- 4 a grouping of a number of similar things wordnet
- 5 An informal body of friends.
"He still hangs out with the same bunch."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 an informal body of friends wordnet
- 7 A considerable amount. US, informal
"a bunch of trouble"
- 8 An unmentioned amount; a number. informal
"A bunch of them went down to the field."
- 9 A group of logs tied together for skidding.
- 10 An unusual concentration of ore in a lode or a small, discontinuous occurrence or patch of ore in the wallrock.
"The ore may be disseminated throughout the matrix in minute particles, as gold in quartz; in parallel threads, strings, and plates, as with copper; in irregular pockets or bunches"
- 11 The reserve yarn on the filling bobbin to allow continuous weaving between the time of indication from the midget feeler until a new bobbin is put in the shuttle.
- 12 An unfinished cigar, before the wrapper leaf is added.
"Two to four filler leaves are laid end to end and rolled into the two halves of the binder leaves, making up what is called the bunch."
- 13 A protuberance; a hunch; a knob or lump; a hump.
"They will carry[…]their treasures upon the bunches of camels."
- 14 A seventeenth-century unit of Rhenish glass, 60 of which constitute a way or web. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To gather into a bunch. transitive
- 2 gather or cause to gather into a cluster wordnet
- 3 To gather fabric into folds. transitive
- 4 form into a bunch wordnet
- 5 To form a bunch. intransitive
""Permissive" working allows more than one train to be in a block section at one time but trains must be run at low speed in order to stop on sight behind the train in front. Such working is often authorised to allow freight trains to "bunch" together to await a path through a bottleneck instead of being strung out over several block sections, as would be necessary if absolute working were in force."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To be gathered together in folds intransitive
- 7 To protrude or swell intransitive
"A very large ſparry Nodule externally of a brown Colour. It has ſomewhat of the reſemblance of a large Champignon before 'tis open'd, bunching out into a large round Knob at one end, the part proceeding from it being leſs, round, and not unlike a Stalk."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States, named after Cherokee Rabbit Bunch. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Years ago, she used to hang around with a bunch of bikers."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bunch"?
Common synonyms include: cluster, crowd, a mass of, a world of, accumulate, adhere.
How do you use "bunch" in a sentence?
Years ago, she used to hang around with a bunch of bikers.
How do you pronounce "bunch"?
Pronounced /bʌnt͡ʃ/.
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”), Lithuanian búožė (“knob”), Ancient Greek παχύς (pakhús, “thick”), Kamkata-viri břẽć, břez (“berry tree”), Prasuni vuzra (“berry tree”), Sanskrit बहु (bahú, “thick; much”)). Alternatively, perhaps from a variant or diminutive of bump (compare hump/hunch, lump/lunch, etc.); or from dialectal Old French bonge (“bundle”) (compare French bongeau, bonjeau, bonjot), from West Flemish bondje, diminutive of West Flemish bond (“bundle”).