bump
to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike: His car bumped a truck.
to cause to strike or collide: He bumped the car against a tree.
to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
to dislodge by appropriating the privileges of: The airline bumped me from the flight.
to demote or dismiss: He was bumped from his job.
to force upward; raise: Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.
to move to a new position: We had to bump your story to next week's paper.
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.
Poker. raise (def. 24).
to come in contact or collide with (often followed by against or into): She bumped into me.
to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts: The old car bumped down the road.
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).
to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.
a swelling or contusion from a blow.
a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance: He tripped over a bump on the sidewalk.
Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level: He got a bump to vice president of the company.
Informal. an increase in amount, especially of salary or a wager: He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.
Aeronautics. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
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).
Mining. crump (def. 6).
Television. bumper1 (def. 9a).
bump into, Informal. to meet by chance: I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
bump off, Slang. to kill, especially to murder: They bumped him off because he knew too much.
Origin of bump
1Other words from bump
- bump·ing·ly, adverb
- un·bumped, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bump in a sentence
Bumping into migrants in the desert who are thirsty, hungry, and injured has opened his “whole humanitarian side.”
Bumping over fallen trees, creaking and groaning and swaying, came the boat-wagon.
Tenting To-night | Mary Roberts RinehartBumping along he recalled to his mind the various girls with whom he had gone to school.
Dust | Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-JuliusBumping along, Tom increased the speed, with Jack waiting in more or less suspense to ascertain what the outcome would be.
Air Service Boys Flying for Victory | Charles Amory BeachI may at this point give a word of advice to a coxswain in a Bumping Race.
Rowing | Rudolf Chambers Lehmann
“Bumping” is common in open boiling when the liquid is free from air bubbles and the interior of the vessel is very smooth.
British Dictionary definitions for bump
/ (bʌmp) /
(when intr , usually foll by against or into) to knock or strike with a jolt
(intr often foll by along) to travel or proceed in jerks and jolts
(tr) to hurt by knocking: he bumped his head on the ceiling
(tr) to knock out of place; dislodge: the crash bumped him from his chair
(tr) British to throw (a child) into the air, one other child holding each limb, and let him down again to touch the ground
(in rowing races, esp at Oxford and Cambridge) to catch up with and touch (another boat that started a fixed distance ahead)
cricket to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces high on pitching or (of a ball) to bounce high when bowled
(intr) mainly US and Canadian to dance erotically by thrusting the pelvis forward (esp in the phrase bump and grind)
(tr) poker to raise (someone)
(tr) informal to exclude a ticket-holding passenger from a flight as a result of overbooking
(tr) informal to displace (someone or something) from a previously allocated position: the story was bumped from the front page
bump uglies US slang to have sexual intercourse
an impact; knock; jolt; collision
a dull thud or other noise from an impact or collision
the shock of a blow or collision
a lump on the body caused by a blow
a protuberance, as on a road surface
any of the natural protuberances of the human skull, said by phrenologists to indicate underlying faculties and character
a rising current of air that gives an aircraft a severe upward jolt
(plural) the act of bumping a child. See sense 5
rowing the act of bumping: See bumping race
bump ball cricket a ball that bounces into the air after being hit directly into the ground by the batsman
Origin of bump
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with bump
In addition to the idioms beginning with bump
- bump into
- bump off
- bump up
also see:
- goose pimples (bumps)
- like a bump on a log
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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