bumpy
Americanadjective
-
of uneven surface; full of bumps.
a bumpy road.
-
full of jolts.
a bumpy ride.
-
causing jolts.
Bumpy air shook the airplane.
-
having many difficulties or failures; full of ups and downs.
He had a rather bumpy career before he settled down in his present job.
adjective
-
having an uneven surface
a bumpy road
-
full of jolts; rough
a bumpy flight
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bumpy
Explanation
Bumpy means not smooth, as in covered in lumps and bumps, like a bumpy path that makes your car bounce, or a bumpy road to getting your parents to lend you the car. Anything covered in bumps is bumpy, whether it’s a road, the skin of a toad, or the surface of the birthday cake you made for your brother. It can also describe a ride full of unexpected jolts and bumps: "It was a bumpy journey along the mountain passes in her Jeep." Figuratively, bumpy can also describe a difficult process: "What a bumpy ride that was, getting my visa to travel to China!"
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
