Try Our Apps
Dictionary.com

follow Dictionary.com

Avoid these words. Seriously.

bump

[buhmp] /bʌmp/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
1.
to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike:
His car bumped a truck.
2.
to cause to strike or collide:
He bumped the car against a tree.
3.
to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
4.
to dislodge by appropriating the privileges of:
The airline bumped me from the flight.
5.
to demote or dismiss:
He was bumped from his job.
6.
to force upward; raise:
Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.
7.
to move to a new position:
We had to bump your story to next week's paper.
8.
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.
9.
Poker. raise (def 24).
verb (used without object)
10.
to come in contact or collide with (often followed by against or into):
She bumped into me.
11.
to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts:
The old car bumped down the road.
12.
to dance by thrusting the pelvis forward abruptly, in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
Compare grind (def 14).
13.
to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.
noun
14.
an act or instance of bumping; collision; blow.
15.
the shock of a blow or collision.
16.
a swelling or contusion from a blow.
17.
a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance:
He tripped over a bump on the sidewalk.
18.
Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level:
He got a bump to vice president of the company.
19.
Informal. an increase in amount, especially of salary or a wager:
He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.
20.
Aeronautics. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
21.
a dance movement in which the pelvis is abruptly thrust forward in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
Compare grind (def 20).
22.
Mining. crump (def 6).
Verb phrases
23.
bump into, Informal. to meet by chance:
I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
24.
bump off, Slang. to kill, especially to murder:
They bumped him off because he knew too much.
Origin of bump
1560-1570
First recorded in 1560-70; imitative
Related forms
bumpingly, adverb
unbumped, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.
Cite This Source
Examples from the Web for bumps
Historical Examples

  • They cease for a moment As the rattling clangor Of the trolley bumps by.

    Spectra Arthur Ficke

  • bumps, and a sale arterwards of new-wrecked timber on the beach.

    The Ocean Cat's Paw George Manville Fenn

  • From which it may be inferred that Mr. bumps was something of a character.

    The Motor Boys Clarence Young

  • bumps trotted after Jack, but Jill betook herself to their hammock.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre

  • "You ought not to have let bumps go," said Miss Webb sharply.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre

  • Both Jack and bumps were on the sick-list for the next few days.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre

  • bumps had sprained her foot, and Jack's cut on his head was a deep and painful one.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre

  • "There is no place like home after all," she said as she sat in a low wicker-chair with bumps on her lap.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre

  • Their mother had died at bumps' birth, their father a year after.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre

  • But when bumps announced she was thirsty they looked rather dismayed.

    Jill's Red Bag Amy Le Feuvre
British Dictionary definitions for bumps

bump

/bʌmp/
verb
1.
when intr, usually foll by against or into. to knock or strike with a jolt
2.
(intransitive) often foll by along. to travel or proceed in jerks and jolts
3.
(transitive) to hurt by knocking: he bumped his head on the ceiling
4.
(transitive) to knock out of place; dislodge: the crash bumped him from his chair
5.
(transitive) (Brit) to throw (a child) into the air, one other child holding each limb, and let him down again to touch the ground
6.
(in rowing races, esp at Oxford and Cambridge) to catch up with and touch (another boat that started a fixed distance ahead)
7.
(cricket) to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces high on pitching or (of a ball) to bounce high when bowled
8.
(intransitive) (mainly US & Canadian) to dance erotically by thrusting the pelvis forward (esp in the phrase bump and grind)
9.
(transitive) (poker) to raise (someone)
10.
(transitive) (informal) to exclude a ticket-holding passenger from a flight as a result of overbooking
11.
(transitive) (informal) to displace (someone or something) from a previously allocated position: the story was bumped from the front page
12.
(US, slang) bump uglies, to have sexual intercourse
noun
13.
an impact; knock; jolt; collision
14.
a dull thud or other noise from an impact or collision
15.
the shock of a blow or collision
16.
a lump on the body caused by a blow
17.
a protuberance, as on a road surface
18.
any of the natural protuberances of the human skull, said by phrenologists to indicate underlying faculties and character
19.
a rising current of air that gives an aircraft a severe upward jolt
20.
(pl) the act of bumping a child. See sense 5
21.
(rowing) the act of bumping See bumping race
22.
(cricket) bump ball, a ball that bounces into the air after being hit directly into the ground by the batsman
See also bump into, bump off, bump up
Word Origin
C16: probably of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cite This Source
Word Origin and History for bumps

bump

n.

1590s, "protuberance caused by a blow;" 1610s as "a dull, solid blow;" see bump (v.). The dancer's bump and grind attested from 1940.

bump

v.

1560s, "to bulge out;" 1610s, "to strike heavily," perhaps from Scandinavian, probably echoic, original sense was "hitting" then of "swelling from being hit." Also has a long association with obsolete bum "to make a booming noise," which perhaps influenced surviving senses such as bumper crop, for something full to the brim (see bumper). To bump into "meet" is from 1880s; to bump off "kill" is 1908 in underworld slang. Related: Bumped; bumping. Bumpsy (adj.) was old slang for "drunk" (1610s).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang definitions & phrases for bumps

bumps

Related Terms

duck bumps, goose bumps

bump

noun

  1. A job promotion: I see old Pipkin has got the bump to full professor (1930s+)
  2. In dancing, a thrust of the pelvis: She unreeled about fifty bumps in dazzling staccato
  3. A drink; slug: They go out and have a bump of whiskey (1980s+)
  4. A party (1980s+ Teenagers)

verb

  1. To discharge; dismiss; fire: They bumped him for insubordination (1915+)
  2. To take away one person's status in order to accommodate someone of greater importance or seniority: A person is bumped by someone with a larger number of retention points (1860+ Railroad)
  3. To cancel a reserved seat on an airline, bus, etc, because the vehicle has been oversold: To be bumped means to be put off a flight because too many seats have been sold (1940s+)
  4. To displace a sports opponent by defeat: The Indians bumped the Tigers out of third place (1950s+)
  5. To kill; BUMP someone OFF (1910+)
  6. To make pregnant; KNOCK someone UP: She had to blame someone for bumping her (1930s+)
  7. To do the sex act with or to (1980s+ Students)
  8. To promote: He got bumped to assistant manager (1930s+)
  9. To raise a bet (1930s+ Poker)
  10. In dancing, esp in striptease, to thrust the pelvis forward and up •Nearly always in combination with grind (1940s+ Show business)

Related Terms

hump and bump, like a bump on a log

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source
Idioms and Phrases with bumps

bump

also see:
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

Word of the Day

Related Words

Nearby words for bumps

Difficulty index for bump

Most English speakers likely know this word

Word Value for bumps

11
15
Scrabble Words With Friends
Extra Cozy Words We Need Right Now