bunker
bunker Lexical Profile
bunker Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A heavily reinforced underground shelter designed to protect occupants from severe external hazards or extreme emergencies.
"Historians toured the preserved concrete bunker that now serves as an educational museum."
A hollowed-out depression on a golf course filled with sand, serving as an obstacle or hazard for players.
"Her approach shot landed in the deep greenside bunker, requiring a careful wedge shot to reach the pin."
A large storage compartment or bin used for holding bulk materials such as coal, grain, or fuel oil, especially aboard a ship.
"The cargo vessel's fuel bunker was inspected thoroughly before departing from the port."
• verb
To hit a golf ball into a sand-filled hazard on the course (usually used in the passive voice).
"The defending champion was bunkered on the eighteenth hole and had to settle for a par."
To take shelter or isolate oneself in a secure, protected place (often followed by 'down').
"During the severe blizzard, the research team had to bunker down inside the mountain station."
To supply a ship with fuel or coal for its voyage.
"The container ship stopped at the harbor to bunker before crossing the Pacific Ocean."
• Rhymes for bunker
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating in the mid-18th century as a Scots word for a bench or chest that also served as a seat, the term later came to describe natural sandy hollows in Scottish golf courses and reinforced underground shelters.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.