pump
1an apparatus or machine for raising, driving, exhausting, or compressing fluids or gases by means of a piston, plunger, or set of rotating vanes.
Engineering, Building Trades. a shore having a jackscrew in its foot for adjusting the length or for bearing more firmly against the structure to be sustained.
Biology. an animal organ that propels fluid through the body; heart.
Cell Biology. a system that supplies energy for transport against a chemical gradient, as the sodium pump for the transfer of sodium and potassium ions across a cell membrane.
to raise, drive, etc., with a pump.
to free from water or other liquid by means of a pump.
to inflate by pumping (often followed by up): to pump a tire up.
to operate or move by an up-and-down or back-and-forth action.
to supply with air, as an organ, by means of a pumplike device.
to drive, force, etc., as if from a pump: He rapidly pumped a dozen shots into the bull's-eye.
to supply or inject as if by using a pump: to pump money into a failing business.
to question artfully or persistently to elicit information: to pump someone for confidential information.
to elicit (information) by questioning.
to work a pump; raise or move water, oil, etc., with a pump.
to operate as a pump does.
to move up and down like a pump handle.
to exert oneself in a manner likened to pumping: He pumped away at his homework all evening.
to seek to elicit information from a person.
to come out in spurts.
pump up,
to inflate.
to increase, heighten, or strengthen; put more effort into or emphasis on; intensify: The store has decided to pump up its advertising.
to infuse with enthusiasm, competitive spirit, energy, etc.: The contestants were all backstage pumping themselves up for their big moment.
Idioms about pump
prime the pump,
to increase government expenditure in an effort to stimulate the economy.
to support or promote the operation or improvement of something.
pump iron. iron (def. 29).
Origin of pump
1Other words from pump
- pump·a·ble, adjective
- pumpless, adjective
- pumplike, adjective
- un·pump·a·ble, adjective
- un·pumped, adjective
Words Nearby pump
Other definitions for pump (2 of 2)
a lightweight, low-cut shoe without fastenings for women.
a slip-on black patent leather shoe for men, for wear with formal dress.
Origin of pump
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pump in a sentence
Her slight miscalculation of how to fix the situation leads to her driving around the gas pump.
Slow Motion Tiger Jump, a Tornado at the Rose Bowl and More Viral Videos | The Daily Beast Video | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTSome are homes and some are pump houses, and you can only tell the difference when you see human silhouettes scurry on rooftops.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq | Nathan Bradley Bethea | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTwo feet from the sawed-off stump of a third willow is the small foot-pump carousel Ray was sitting on when he shot himself.
To accommodate patients getting chemotherapy at odd hours, Hrushesky used a pump that operated automatically.
So we got a compressor and we would literally pump air into each of the four cameras so we could blow water off the lenses.
‘Noah’ is a Global Warming Epic About the Battle Between Religion and Science, Says Cinematographer | Marlow Stern | March 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The formula would be: “The pump invented—Drain a well ,” or Water raised in a hollow.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)At Wheal Alfred they have a 64-inch cylinder; the air-pump is 20 inches, and the stroke is half that of the engine.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickI observe that you have ordered the pump, and from the description you give of it, I think it will answer very well.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickIt was placed immediately over the shaft and pump-rods, requiring no engine-beam.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickA feed-pump forced water into the boilers; each had a safety-valve with a lever and weight.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis Trevithick
British Dictionary definitions for pump (1 of 2)
/ (pʌmp) /
any device for compressing, driving, raising, or reducing the pressure of a fluid, esp by means of a piston or set of rotating impellers
biology a mechanism for the active transport of ions, such as protons, calcium ions, and sodium ions, across cell membranes: a sodium pump
(when tr, usually foll by from, out, into, away, etc) to raise or drive (air, liquid, etc, esp into or from something) with a pump or similar device
(tr; usually foll by in or into) to supply in large amounts: to pump capital into a project
(tr) to deliver (shots, bullets, etc) repeatedly with great force
to operate (something, esp a handle or lever) in the manner of a pump or (of something) to work in this way: to pump the pedals of a bicycle
(tr) to obtain (information) from (a person) by persistent questioning
(intr; usually foll by from or out of) (of liquids) to flow freely in large spurts: oil pumped from the fissure
Origin of pump
1British Dictionary definitions for pump (2 of 2)
/ (pʌmp) /
a low-cut low-heeled shoe without fastenings, worn esp for dancing
a type of shoe with a rubber sole, used in games such as tennis; plimsoll
Origin of pump
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for pump
[ pŭmp ]
A device used to raise or transfer fluids. Most pumps function either by compression or suction.
A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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