bump
Americanverb (used with object)
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to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike.
His car bumped a truck.
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to cause to strike or collide.
He bumped the car against a tree.
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to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
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to dislodge by appropriating the privileges of.
The airline bumped me from the flight.
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to demote or dismiss.
He was bumped from his job.
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to force upward; raise.
Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.
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to move to a new position.
We had to bump your story to next week's paper.
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Digital Technology. to move (an online post or thread) to the top of the reverse chronological list by adding a new comment or post to the thread.
I bumped the question I posted last week to make it more visible.
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Poker. raise.
verb (used without object)
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to come in contact or collide with (often followed by against orinto ).
She bumped into me.
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to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts.
The old car bumped down the road.
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to dance by thrusting the pelvis forward abruptly, in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
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to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.
noun
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the shock of a blow or collision.
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a swelling or contusion from a blow.
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a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance.
He tripped over a bump on the sidewalk.
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Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level.
He got a bump to vice president of the company.
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Informal. an increase in amount, especially of salary or a wager.
He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.
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Aeronautics. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
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a dance movement in which the pelvis is abruptly thrust forward in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
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Mining. crump.
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Television. bumper.
verb phrase
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bump off to kill, especially to murder.
They bumped him off because he knew too much.
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bump into to meet by chance.
I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
verb
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to knock or strike with a jolt
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to travel or proceed in jerks and jolts
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(tr) to hurt by knocking
he bumped his head on the ceiling
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(tr) to knock out of place; dislodge
the crash bumped him from his chair
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(tr) to throw (a child) into the air, one other child holding each limb, and let him down again to touch the ground
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(in rowing races, esp at Oxford and Cambridge) to catch up with and touch (another boat that started a fixed distance ahead)
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cricket to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces high on pitching or (of a ball) to bounce high when bowled
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(intr) to dance erotically by thrusting the pelvis forward (esp in the phrase bump and grind )
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(tr) poker to raise (someone)
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informal (tr) to exclude a ticket-holding passenger from a flight as a result of overbooking
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informal (tr) to displace (someone or something) from a previously allocated position
the story was bumped from the front page
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slang to have sexual intercourse
noun
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an impact; knock; jolt; collision
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a dull thud or other noise from an impact or collision
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the shock of a blow or collision
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a lump on the body caused by a blow
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a protuberance, as on a road surface
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any of the natural protuberances of the human skull, said by phrenologists to indicate underlying faculties and character
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a rising current of air that gives an aircraft a severe upward jolt
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(plural) the act of bumping a child. See sense 5
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rowing the act of bumping See bumping race
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cricket a ball that bounces into the air after being hit directly into the ground by the batsman
Usage
What else does bump mean? Bump is an online slang term for the practice of posting filler comments to move a post to the top of a discussion thread, increasing a message or thread’s status and visibility.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have bumpedperfect
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has bumpedperfect 3rd person singular
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is bumpingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am bumpingprogressive 1st person singular
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are bumpingprogressive
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have been bumpingperfect progressive
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bumpingparticiple
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bumpssingular 3rd person
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has been bumpingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had bumpedperfect
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had been bumpingperfect progressive
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bumpedparticiple
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bumpedsimple
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was bumpingprogressive singular
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were bumpingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of bump
First recorded in 1560–70; imitative
Explanation
A bump is an area that bulges out, like a pregnant woman's stomach. To bump someone is to knock into them. A pimple is a little bump. A camel’s hump is a larger bump. There are speed bumps sticking up in the road to keep drivers from going too fast. When you bump someone, you hit them with your whole body. If the person in front of you stops walking and you're not paying attention, you might bump right into them. Bumping often happens by accident, unless of course you are doing "the bump" (a 1970's dance).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I wanted to get far away enough that I wouldn’t bump into anyone I knew and I would just sit and cry.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Job changers were paid 6.5% more year over year in May, while job stayers saw a 4.4% pay bump, according to ADP.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
They last approved an increase in 2024, when the utility had requested a 13.6% bump for most customers and got 8%.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
It would be an adjustment for someone accustomed to traditional Medicare to switch to an Advantage plan and bump up against these restrictions, says Louise Norris, health policy analyst at MedicareResources.org External link.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
The Phrenologists reason that if you have a strong organ, it will be big and project from your skull as a bump.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
