Dictionary

bunker en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɐŋ.kə/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• audio Queensland
• /ˈbʌŋ.kə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Texas) audio
• /ˈbʌŋ.kɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈbʊŋ.kə/ (Northern-England)

Etymology

The origin of the noun is uncertain; the earliest sense is sense 7.1 (“box or chest, the lid of which serves as a seat”), from Scots bunker (“bench; pew; window-seat; sand pit (especially in golf); coal receptacle; sleeping berth, bunk”), from Early Scots bunker, bunkur, bonker (“a chest or box, often serving as a seat”), probably from Old Norse bunki (“a heap”) (probably whence bunk (“sleeping berth in a ship, train, etc.”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkô (“a heap, pile; a bump, lump, a crowd”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ- (“thick”) or *bʰeg- (“to billow, swell; to arch, bend, curve (?)”). Compare Middle Low German bunge (“drum, container”), Middle High German bunge (“drum”). Sense 1 (“hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks”) was derived from German Bunker during World War II, which was itself from bunker (“large bin or container for storing coal”) (sense 5). The verb is derived from the noun.

Meanings

1. A hardened shelter, often partly buried or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks.
   • The military built a bunker to help evacuate the citizens safely from the bombings.
2. A compartment for storing coal for the ship's boilers; or a tank for storing fuel oil for the ship's engines.
3. The coal compartment on a tank engine; it can also refer to that on a tender engine.
   • The bunkers of these engines hold enough coal for one round journey of 120½ miles, and water is taken in each direction at Hexham. 1941 December, “Notes and News: A Tank Engine's 241-mile Day”, in Railway Magazine, page 569:
   • Among tank engines, the 0-6-2 wheel arrangement was by far the most numerous, there being nearly 450 of this arrangement, which offers the advantage of good power and adhesive weight, coupled with adequate tank and bunker capacity, within a limited compass. 1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in The Railway Magazine, Westminster, London: IPC Transport Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 161:
   • The superstructure of the tender is modified by the removal of the side raves, and compartments for the fire-irons are formed on each side of the coal bunker. 1956 April, “"Merchant Navy" Class Pacific Modified”, in Railway Magazine, page 212:
4. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of bunker oil (usually plural).
   alt of bunker oil
   • The vessel is taking on bunkers.
5. A hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow.
   • [Letter X, page 204] At length I came within sight of them, three in number, where they sat cosily niched, into what you might call a bunker, a little sand-pit, dry and snug, and surrounded by its banks, and a screen of whins in full bloom. […] [Letter XI, page 223] And are ye in the wont of drawing up wi' all the gangrel bodies that ye meet on the high road, or find cowering in a sand-bunker upon the links? 1824 June, [Walter Scott], “Letter X. Darsie Latimer to Alan Fairford.”; “Letter XI. The Same to the Same.”, in Redgauntlet, […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, pages 204 and 223:
6. An obstacle used to block an opposing player's view and field of fire.
7. (UK, historical) A large bin or container for storing coal, often built outdoors in the yard of a house.
   • There used to be a coal bunker at the back of the house - it was demolished years ago.
8. (Scotland) A sort of box or chest, as in a window, the lid of which serves as a seat.
   • There was no seat accommodated him so well as the "bunker" at Woodend, and no face he loved so much to gaze on as Jeanie Deans's. 1818 July 25, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VIII, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, page 234:
   • A winnock-bunker in the eaſt, / There ſat auld Nick, in ſhape o' beaſt; […] 1790 (date written; published 1791), Robert Burns, “Tam o’ Shanter. A Tale.”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 2nd edition, volume II, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 202:
9. (Scotland, slang) A kitchen worktop.
10. A refrigerator or freezer, usually with an open top, used to display chilled or frozen merchandise for convenience in grocery stores.

Forms

Deriveds

bunker mentality · bunker oil · bunkeresque · bunker fuel · bunkermate · bunkerman · bunkering · bunker buster · bunkerish · Diefenbunker · bunkerage · bunkerless · bunkerlike · bunker-busting · bunker barge

Descendants

búnquer · Bunker

Translations (86)

uk бу́нкер (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · hy բունկեր (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · km ត្រង់សេ (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · de Bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · fi bunkkeri (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · hsb bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · km បុងគ័រ (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · it bunker (large bin or container for storing coal) · fi hiekkaeste (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · hu bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ca búnquer (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · it bunker (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · cmn 地堡 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · fr bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nn bunker (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · sv bunker (large bin or container for storing coal) · sv bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ko 벙커 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · es bunker (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · nb bunker (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · th หลุมหลบภัย (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ja 掩蔽壕 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · de Bunker (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · ko 벙커 (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · km លេណដ្ឋាន (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ka ბუნკერი (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ko 토치카 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · pt casamata (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ar مَخْبَأ (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · fa پناهگاه (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · eo bunkro (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · gl búnker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nn bunker (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · vi boong-ke (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ko 엄체호 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ko 엄폐호 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · pl bunkier (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · vi boongke (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nb bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · mn хоргодох байр (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ru песчаная зона (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · nb bunker (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · el καταφύγιο (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · mi rua kirikiri (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · el οχυρό (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nl bunker (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · dsb bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · de Schutzkeller (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · sh бу̀нкер (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · sh bùnker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · bg бу́нкер (large bin or container for storing coal) · es búnker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nl bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · mi mārua onepū (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · sh бу̀нкер (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · fi bunkkeri (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · it bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · bg бу́нкер (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · bo འཇིང་རག (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · mk бункер (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · pl schron (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · el καυσιμαποθήκη (large bin or container for storing coal) · cmn 掩體 /掩体 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ru бу́нкер (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nn bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · fi pommisuoja (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · be бу́нкер (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · nl bunker (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · bg пясъчник (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · ja トーチカ (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ja バンカー (hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow) · sh bùnker (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · ar قَبْو (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · el καυσιμαποθήκη (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · sv bunker (container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine) · ca carbonera (large bin or container for storing coal) · cs bunkr (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · vi hầm (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ja バンカー (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · sl bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · tr sığınak (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · sk bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ja 掩体壕 (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · ro buncăr (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · fi bunkkeri (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks) · da bunker (hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks)

wikidata: Q2611902

bunker en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɐŋ.kə/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• audio Queensland
• /ˈbʌŋ.kə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Texas) audio
• /ˈbʌŋ.kɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈbʊŋ.kə/ (Northern-England)

Etymology

The origin of the noun is uncertain; the earliest sense is sense 7.1 (“box or chest, the lid of which serves as a seat”), from Scots bunker (“bench; pew; window-seat; sand pit (especially in golf); coal receptacle; sleeping berth, bunk”), from Early Scots bunker, bunkur, bonker (“a chest or box, often serving as a seat”), probably from Old Norse bunki (“a heap”) (probably whence bunk (“sleeping berth in a ship, train, etc.”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkô (“a heap, pile; a bump, lump, a crowd”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ- (“thick”) or *bʰeg- (“to billow, swell; to arch, bend, curve (?)”). Compare Middle Low German bunge (“drum, container”), Middle High German bunge (“drum”). Sense 1 (“hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks”) was derived from German Bunker during World War II, which was itself from bunker (“large bin or container for storing coal”) (sense 5). The verb is derived from the noun.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine.
2. (intransitive, of a vessel) To take a load of coal or fuel oil for its engine.
3. (Nigeria, transitive) To steal bunker fuel by illicitly siphoning it off.
4. (transitive) To hit (a golf ball) into a bunker; (chiefly passive voice) to place (a golfer) in the position of having a golf ball in a bunker.
5. (UK, idiomatic, informal, transitive) To hit (a golf ball) into a bunker; (chiefly passive voice) to place (a golfer) in the position of having a golf ball in a bunker. ▸ To place (someone) in a position that is difficult to get out of; to hinder.
   • Proteus. Or we resign and tell the country that we cant carry on the King's Government under conditions which destroy our responsibility. / Balbus. Thatll do it. He couldnt face that. / Crassus. Yes: thatll bunker him. 1928 December (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza, London: Constable and Company, published 1930, →OCLC, Act I, page 18:
6. (transitive) To fire constantly at (an opponent hiding behind an obstacle), trapping them and preventing them from firing at other players; also, to eliminate (an opponent behind an obstacle) by rushing to the position and firing at extremely close range as the player becomes exposed.
7. (intransitive) Often followed by down: to take shelter in a bunker or other place.
   • More than 10,000 people were bunkering in 20 emergency shelters across the disaster zone, not all of them cyclone-rated. 2012 September 17, Michael McKenna, Tony Koch, “Cyclone Yasi crosses coast in North's darkest hour”, in The Australian:
   • The Kyiv Zoo staff and their families are bunkering at the zoo as they care for the animals housed there amid the war in Ukraine. 2022 March 6, Heather Hamilton, “Kyiv Zoo staff and families care for nearly 4,000 animals amid war in Ukraine”, in Washington Examiner:
   • As troops swarmed the streets below and gun battles continued to rage, I bunkered in a room on the top floor of a building in the middle of the red zone. Redshirt spokesman Sean Boonpracong sought refuge there too. Protesters burned a train station below, hurling tyres on to an already roaring blaze across the tracks. 2010 May 19, Ben Doherty, “Thai soldiers arrest protest leaders in bloody 'final crackdown'”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Deriveds

bunker out · bunker up · bunker down · bunkerer

Translations (6)

fi bunkrata (to load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine) · de bunkern (of a vessel: to take a load of coal or fuel oil for its engine) · bg товаря въглища (to load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine) · sv bunkra (to load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine) · bg попадам в пясъчника (to hit (a golf ball) into a bunker; to place (a golfer) in the position of having a golf ball in a bunker) · de bunkern (to load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine)

bunker en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɐŋ.kə/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• audio Queensland
• /ˈbʌŋ.kə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Texas) audio
• /ˈbʌŋ.kɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈbʊŋ.kə/ (Northern-England)

Etymology

From bunk (“to fail to attend school or work without permission, to play truant”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns indicating a person or thing that does an action).

Meanings

1. (India, UK, slang) One who bunks off; a truant from school.

Forms

bunker en · NOUN · etymology 3

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɐŋ.kə/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• audio Queensland
• /ˈbʌŋ.kə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Texas) audio
• /ˈbʌŋ.kɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈbʊŋ.kə/ (Northern-England)

Etymology

Clipping of mossbunker, a variant of mossbanker, from Dutch marsbanker (“common scad or Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)”), from Marsdiep (“deep tide-race between Den Helder and Texel in the Netherlands”) + bank (“shallow part of the sea near a coast”) + -er (suffix forming nouns denoting male inhabitants of a place).

Meanings

1. (US, regional) The menhaden, any of several species of fish in the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium.
   • Ten hours of footage revealed the young [shark's] habits, such as diving for squid up to 150 feet deep, then moving closer to shore to feast on huge schools of bunker fish. 2024 June 24, Melanie Haiken, “Baby great white shark reveals huge nursery near NYC in scientific first”, in National Geographic:

Forms

Deriveds

peanut bunker