bumpy
Americanadjective
-
bumpier,
comparative
-
bumpiest
superlative
-
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
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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!"
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.
See Examples For:
The quarterly results follow a bumpy start on Wall Street.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Hopefully this bumpy season — his first as a Dodger to end short of the championship following the 2024 and 2025 title runs — will make Ohtani better.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Whether it gets there or not, the ride will likely be a bumpy one.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
After a bumpy drive into the woodland, Pete launches a thermal drone into the early morning sky.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
And so I whirled back up the stairs to my room, changed into my oldest skirt, and set out over the bumpy brick streets.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
She doesn't have an economics background but it may be felt that a senior minister from the party's right could reassure the markets and avoid a potentially bumpier transition for Burnham.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
It’s time to prepare your retirement portfolio for a bumpier ride.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
Wall Street is inching toward a historic milestone just as the ride is getting bumpier in the stock market.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
Investors riding a rare biotech recovery don’t need to jump off the train, but they should expect a bumpier ride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
It was bumpier up in the sky than down on the grass.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
This latest one, on the welfare state, comes after Sir Keir Starmer has endured his bumpiest days yet in Downing Street.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
“And I have a lot of respect for Casa Latina. I think they’re past the bumpiest part.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
Now, he couldn't apologize enough for his latest misstep in what's become the bumpiest jump to the NFL ever attempted by a college coaching great.
From Fox News ● Oct. 5, 2021
In short, despite the improving public health situation, some investors now expect the final three months of 2021 to be the bumpiest since the pandemic crashed the market in early 2020.
From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2021
It was like being on the bumpiest, scariest roller-coaster ride!
From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
