to hunker down
2
7.7
- phrasal verb
- /ˈhʌŋkər daʊn/
- Informal
:
plantarse
- Instead of giving in to pressure, she decided to hunker down and firmly defend her viewpoint.
Examples
-
I'm afraid to move, thinking he'll run, so I hunker down and watch him, waiting to see what he'll do.
Blog text (21) -
So those who remain here, as most have, will be marking the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday not with ribbon cuttings and modest ceremonies as planned, but by hunkering down under heavy rains and winds.
Blog text (16) -
You know, you hunker down and focus on it.
-
Really just kind of hunkering down and doing the work.
-
And in order to do them well, you have to really, really hunker down and do the hard work.
-
Managers at any level are at risk if they hunker down in their office.
Blog text (7) -
Or, you know, they don't want to actually hunker down and just fix their attention on this and see where this actually goes.
-
I've got to hunker down and become more robust and don't put so much energy into these other things.
-
While my mother, a lifelong football fanatic, hunkers down in front of the television in a Cowboys sweatshirt with her sweet tea in hand, we make our great getaway to the movies.
Blog text (21) -
Not surprisingly, then, incumbents hunker down when faced with outside spending in their contest—something that was true even before Citizens United.
Academic text (2014)
Synonyms
53
6.5
To try harder to continue something even when people disagree or it is risky
25
5.7
To keep your position when others disagree
22
3.7
Keep your decision or opinion when others try to make you change
12
6.7
Keep supporting your idea when others disagree
9
4.5
To refuse to change your opinion or decision despite pressure
8
5.4
To refuse to change a decision or rule under pressure
4
6.4
Refuse to change your mind when others disagree
2
4.4
Keep the same decision even when others disagree
2
7.9
To keep the same opinion or decision and not change it
1
6.7
Refuse to change an opinion or plan when pressed
1
4.4
To state an opinion strongly and refuse to change it when others disagree
1
7.8
Refuse to change an opinion or position at all
Antonyms
How Determined
29
6.9
22
3.7
- Informal
2
7.7
52
5.7
318
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
hunker + down
The verb 'hunker' (to squat or crouch) combined with 'down' yields a clear physical image of lowering oneself, and the MWE's sense of taking shelter or settling in is a metaphorical extension of that image. Because the figurative 'take shelter/prepare' meaning relies on this metaphor and 'hunker' is relatively low-frequency, the relation is partially transparent but not fully predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Hunker down may come from a plain image of someone hunkering by crouching low and holding their ground so they will not move. So it means 'to refuse to change your position or opinion'.