bunker

[buhng-ker]

noun

1. a large bin or receptacle; a fixed chest or box.

   a coal bunker.

2. a fortification set mostly below the surface of the ground with overhead protection provided by logs and earth or by concrete and fitted with openings through which guns may be fired.

3. Golf.,  any obstacle, as a sand trap or mound of dirt, constituting a hazard.

verb (used with object)

1. Nautical.

   1. to provide fuel for (a vessel).

   2. to convey (bulk cargo, except grain) from a vessel to an adjacent storehouse.

2. Golf.,  to hit (a ball) into a bunker.

3. to equip with or as if with bunkers.

   to bunker an army's defenses.

bunker

/ ˈbʌŋkə /

noun

1. a large storage container or tank, as for coal

2. Also called (esp US and Canadian): sand trap. an obstacle on a golf course, usually a sand-filled hollow bordered by a ridge

3. an underground shelter, often of reinforced concrete and with a bank and embrasures for guns above ground

verb

1. (tr) golf

   1. to drive (the ball) into a bunker

   2. (passive) to have one's ball trapped in a bunker

2. (tr) nautical

   1. to fuel (a ship)

   2. to transfer (cargo) from a ship to a storehouse

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunker¹

First recorded in 1750–60; earlier bonkar ( Scots ) “box, chest, serving also as a seat,” of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of bunker¹

C16 (in the sense: chest, box): from Scottish bonkar , of unknown origin

Example Sentences

On the drive in along a muddy track we saw Thai soldiers in camouflaged bunkers hidden in the trees.

From BBC

Reports from the region speak of trenches, bunkers, minefields, anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire.

From BBC

Brown and his wife, Ryan Michelle Bathé, sealed the bunker when they moved in, not wanting their two boys to wander in there.

From Los Angeles Times

Hull refused to relent and continued to attack, closing the gap to one shot until a costly trip to a fairway bunker on the 16th.

From BBC

The couple said they had plans to turn the bunker into a games room and gym, but were also keen to make sure historic elements remained in place.

From BBC

Related Words

• dugout 
• fortification 
• shelter