to bunch up
8
3.3
- phrasal verb
:
amontonarse
- As the storm approached, the hikers decided to bunch up for safety, staying close together on the trail.
- shirt bunched up
- bunching up her skirt
- coat bunched up
If you have more mature eyes and you don't like the way a lot of cream shadows will bunch up on your eyelids.
- If you have more mature eyes and you don't like the way a lot of cream shadows will bunch up on your eyelids.
- I will say, my whole scheme about not having the leather bunch up under the arms did not work.
- This one I used once and just could not use it again because it literally bunches up and starts to almost crumble off onto your cheeks.
- And then if you're running high frequency service, they'll bunch up and that could be the cause of bunching or maybe that fast driver is not sort of running early.
- Is you can't really wear it with anything because the sleeves are so like big, it just bunches up.
Examples
-
Make the riders behind bunch up.
-
They're still pretty bunched up.
-
I will say, my whole scheme about not having the leather bunch up under the arms did not work.
-
Don't bunch up down there, people.
-
Oh, let's not leave them all bunched up.
-
Keep your spacing, don't bunch up.
-
Ah, Gregor, why are you sitting all bunched up?
-
We were really bunched up on the eight-by-twelve-foot platform, and crowds make me nervous under conditions like this.
Fiction book (2001) -
The Vikings LBs, once playing in perfect alignment, are now bunched up in the middle.
Blog text (6) -
Don't bunch up.
Synonyms
278
2.3
To press things together so they take less space
175
1.6
To move many people or animals into a small space
169
3.2
To bring people, animals, or things together in one place
74
2.0
To move together in large numbers
70
1.9
Come together in a group near someone or something
41
3.5
To come together in a small group or make people do the same
38
1.2
To put people and things together by type or purpose
35
2.1
Move toward each other and meet, often touching or closing around something
30
1.2
To gather things or people into a group
15
7.4
Come together to form one group or whole
14
2.5
Pull something close to your body, like a coat or blanket
7
4.4
To come together into a small, close group
7
6.4
To gather closely in large numbers in a place
5
3.1
To move or bring close together to form a small group
5
7.8
To press people or things together into a small space
2
3.0
To stand or move closely in a group
2
3.0
People and animals come together in a group for safety or shared interest
2
3.0
To press things so they fit more tightly together
1
4.8
To move close together around a person or thing leaving little space
1
8.4
To join together to form a mass or cluster
To gather closely in a small group for warmth or company
To crowd into a place in large numbers
Put people very close together with almost no space between them
To bring people or things together into a group
To gather in large numbers around a person or place like a swarm
Antonyms
How Tight
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to form into a tight group' is directly derivable from combining 'bunch' (to gather or cluster) with the particle 'up', which signals gathering together or completion. This verb+particle pattern is a regular, cross-linguistically common composition in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb bunch up comes from the image of a bunch of grapes or flowers where many parts sit tightly together, and when people, papers, or clothes gather in the same way they bunch up. That's why it means 'to form a tight group'.