I. bunch 1 S2 /bʌntʃ/ BrE AmE noun
1 . GROUP OF THINGS [countable] a group of things that are fastened, held, or growing together
bunch of
I’ll send her a bunch of flowers.
He had a bunch of keys on his belt.
a bunch of grapes
2 . GROUP OF PEOPLE [singular] informal a group of people:
The ancient Egyptians were a clever bunch.
bunch of
a friendly bunch of people
3 . the best/pick of the bunch the best among a group of people or things
4 . LARGE AMOUNT [singular] American English informal a large number of people or things, or a large amount of something
bunch of
There’s a whole bunch of places I want to visit.
5 . bunches [plural] British English if a girl wears her hair in bunches, she ties it together at each side of her head
⇨ thanks a bunch at ↑ thanks (5)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ phrases
▪ a bunch of flowers/roses/daffodils etc
I picked a bunch of flowers from the garden.
▪ a bunch of keys
A bunch of keys dangled from his belt.
▪ a bunch of grapes
She served the cheese with a bunch of black grapes.
▪ a bunch of bananas
Bunches of bananas hung in the trees.
▪ a bunch of herbs/parsley/thyme etc
You might like to add a bunch of fresh herbs to the stock.
II. bunch 2 BrE AmE ( also bunch together , bunch up ) verb
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to stay close together in a group, or to make people do this:
The children bunched together in small groups.
John stopped, forcing the rest of the group to bunch up behind him.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to make part of your body tight, or to become tight like this:
Sean bunched his fists.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to pull material together tightly in folds:
She bunched the cloth up and threw it away.
4 . [transitive] to hold or tie things together in a bunch