hunker down

Verb

• hold stubbornly to a position
  • The wife hunkered down and the husband's resistance began to break down
    

• take shelter
  • During the sandstorm, they hunkered down in a small hut
    

• sit on one's heels
  • In some cultures, the women give birth while squatting
    
  • The children hunkered down to protect themselves from the sandstorm
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  squat , crouch , scrunch , scrunch up , hunker