/ bʌntʃ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] bunch of sth a number of things of the same type which are growing or fastened together :
a bunch of bananas / grapes, etc.
a bunch of keys
She picked me a bunch of flowers .
2.
[ sing. ] a ~ (of sth) ( informal , especially NAmE ) a large amount of sth; a large number of things or people :
I have a whole bunch of stuff to do this morning.
3.
[ sing. ] ( informal ) a group of people :
The people that I work with are a great bunch.
4.
bunches [ pl. ] ( BrE ) long hair that is divided in two and tied at each side of the head :
She wore her hair in bunches.
•
IDIOMS
- the best / pick of the bunch
—more at best
■ verb
bunch (sth) (up) to become tight or to form tight folds; to make sth do this :
[ v ]
His muscles bunched under his shirt.
Her skirt had bunched up round her waist.
[ vn ]
His forehead was bunched in a frown.
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- bunch up / together | bunch sb/sth up / together
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : of unknown origin.