chunk

chunk /tʃʌŋk/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: ⇨ ↑chuck²]
1. a large thick piece of something that does not have an even shape:
ice chunks
chunk of
a chunk of bread
2. a large part or amount of something:
The rent takes a large chunk out of my monthly salary.
chunk of
A huge chunk of the audience got up and left before the end of the show.
3. a chunk of change American English informal a large amount of money:
Lurie risked a pretty big chunk of change on the race.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ piece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part: Could I have another piece of cake? | a piece of broken glass | Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.
▪ bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces: The notes were written on bits of paper. | He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.
▪ lump a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape: two lumps of sugar | a lump of coal | a lump of clay
▪ scrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed: I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper. | The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.
▪ strip a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc: a strip of cloth | The leather had been cut into strips.
▪ sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal: a blank sheet of paper | a sheet of aluminium
▪ slice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece: a slice of pizza | Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
▪ chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal: The fruit was cut into large chunks. | a chunk of bread
▪ hunk a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc: a big hunk of cheese | hunks of concrete
▪ block a piece of something solid, which has straight sides: concrete blocks | a block of cheese | a block of ice
▪ slab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc: The floor had been made from stone slabs. | a slab of beef
▪ cube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food: a cube of sugar | ice cubes
▪ wedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a ↑triangle – used especially about food and metal: a wedge of cheese
▪ bar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides: a chocolate bar | a bar of soap | gold bars worth more than £26 million
▪ rasher British English a slice of bacon: I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chunk

chunk [chunk chunks chunked chunking] [tʃʌŋk] [tʃʌŋk] noun
1. a thick solid piece that has been cut or broken off sth

• a chunk of cheese/masonry

2. (informal) a fairly large amount of sth

• I've already written a fair chunk of the article.

3. (linguistics) a phrase or group of words which can be learnt as a unit by sb who is learning a language. Examples of chunks are ‘Can I have the bill, please?’ and ‘Pleased to meet you’.
see blow chunks at blow _v.
Word Origin:
late 17th cent.: apparently an alteration of the noun chuck senses 1 and 3.
Example Bank:
• He cut the food up into bite-size chunks.
• I bought the cheese in one big chunk.
• The listening texts consist of short, bite-sized chunks which are accessible to beginners.
• The texts consist of short, bite-sized chunks.
• This one project has taken a substantial chunk of our budget.
• a huge chunk of meat/rock/text
• a tin of pineapple chunks

• Chunks of masonry lay in the grass around the ruined building.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

chunk / tʃʌŋk / noun [ C ]

a roughly cut piece:

a chunk of cheese/meat

pineapple/tuna chunks

See picture amounts of food

informal a part of something, especially a large part:

a chunk of text

a substantial chunk of our profits

Three hours is quite a chunk out of my working day.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

chunk

[tʃʌ̱ŋk]
chunks
1) N-COUNT: oft N of n Chunks of something are thick solid pieces of it.
  They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.
  ...a chunk of meat...
  Cut the melon into chunks.
  Syn:
  lump
2) N-COUNT: usu N of n A chunk of something is a large amount or large part of it. [INFORMAL]
  The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chunk

chunk /ˈʧʌŋk/ noun, pl chunks [count]
1 : a thick piece of something
• She cut the fruit into large chunks.
• chunks of meat/ice/wood/pineapple
2 somewhat informal : a large amount or part of something
• She spends a good chunk of her day on the phone.
• He devoted a large chunk of time to the project.
• (US) He spent a big/hefty chunk of change [=a lot of money] on that car.