chunks

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of chunk.

   The workers hauled away chunks of broken concrete after the demolition.

   He dropped a few chunks of chocolate into the warm milk.

   Note

   A regular plural that serves every sense of the noun: chunks of stone or concrete, chunks of a file or audio stream, the separate segments of a comedian's set. Linguists also count in chunks, meaning word sequences that recur often without being idioms. The same spelling is the verb's present tense, so "she chunks the dough" and "chunks of dough" look identical on the page.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of chunk.

   The software chunks large files into smaller pieces for faster upload.

   She chunks the dough into equal portions before shaping each loaf.

   Note

   Every sense of the verb takes a direct object, so this form is nearly always followed by what gets broken, divided or hit: it chunks the files, he chunks the lesson into steps. In Southern US slang the verb simply means "throw", and in competition a strong attack chunks an opponent when it deals heavy damage.

   He chunks rocks into the creek every afternoon.

   The teacher chunks the reading into short sections.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2