bunched

verb

past tense of bunch
1
as in protruded
to extend outward beyond a usual point the dress bunches a bit at the waist

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in huddled
to gather into a closely packed group the slow service caused the customers at the pick-up counter to bunch up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bunched The designer believes that the gown got bunched up during Diana’s carriage ride to the church. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 29 July 2026 Skylrk Slouchy Socks bunched above a pair of unreleased Matter Daddy sneakers in the Latte colorway, while Speed Demon sunglasses in Jet supplied the narrow black frames. — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 19 July 2026 Spain, England and Argentina are all a solid amount behind France in the odds, but are tightly bunched among themselves. — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 13 July 2026 The sides are also bunched together in the NWSL table, with Orlando in eighth place and ACFC a point behind in ninth position. — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 July 2026 In the top of the second, the Dodgers bunched four hits, all singles — the first by Hernández, beating out an infield single in his first at-bat since the hamstring injury — to take a 2-0 lead. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026 Measures such as these help ease the stress of attendees bustling across the city from one appointment to the next, and hopefully help protect the models bunched backstage. — Alexandra Hildreth, Vogue, 24 June 2026 The Angels bunched six hits in a six-run second, the rally featuring Jose Siri's RBI double and RBI singles by Logan O'Hoppe, Grissom and Peraza. — CBS News, 3 June 2026 The Angels bunched six hits in a six-run second, the rally featuring Jose Siri’s RBI double and RBI singles by Logan O’Hoppe, Grissom and Peraza. — ABC News, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bunched
  1. protruded
  2. huddled
  3. poked
  4. crowded
  5. bulged
  6. piled
  7. clustered
Verb
  • In several looks, the hips protruded impressively outward, but the silhouette appeared more subtle and somewhat suitable for everyday wear in the label’s delicate camisole tops.
    — Kelly Niesen, Glamour, 24 July 2026
  • The skinny braids wrapped the bottom of the bun, while the thicker braids dressed the top, forming a cylinder shape that protruded from the crown of her head.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 29 June 2026
Definition of protruded
Verb
  • Schottenheimer huddled the team up for a longer than usual postgame discussion because of the fights.
    — Jon Machota, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Every lunch, Becerra and half a dozen friends would around a picnic table, huddled over a deck of cards.
    — Ben Paviour August 17, Sacbee.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of huddled
Verb
  • Over the past few years, a steady increase has been reported of workers getting poked by needles in the trash.
    — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Benson later had a pass poked out by Texans corner Tremon Smith.
    — Sam Warren, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • The leaderboard, topped by Wyndham Clark (64-64 — 128), is crowded halfway through the second of three legs of golf’s end-of-season FedEx Cup Playoffs.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2026
  • But that position’s crowded with Fortner, Hecht, a fifth-round pick from Kansas State, and the versatile Christensen.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of crowded
Verb
  • My husband Grant Wahl's bulged and burst, at an age when this disease usually means something inherited.
    — Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • That ball found the head of Jude Bellingham, whose diving header bulged the net and opened the scoring.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of bulged
Verb
  • Investor enthusiasm surged as buyers piled into a Chinese national technology champion.
    — Yue Wang, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The result is one of the restaurant’s most memorable design features, giving diners something to look at beyond the food piled onto their plates.
    — Abby Price, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of piled
Verb
  • Most of the large developments with urban vibes in Sandy Springs are clustered around the Perimeter rather than the city’s northern edge.
    — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Nanda Win, head of the Yangon Regional Department of Public Health, said cases were particularly concentrated in downtown Yangon’s Chinatown area, where street food vendors, restaurants and bars are clustered, according to the report.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of clustered

Browse Nearby Words

bunch
bunched
bunches
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bunched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bunched. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tilde

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All