pump

¹

[puhmp]

noun

1. an apparatus or machine for raising, driving, exhausting, or compressing fluids or gases by means of a piston, plunger, or set of rotating vanes.

2. 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.

3. Biology.,  an animal organ that propels fluid through the body; heart.

4. 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.

verb (used with object)

1. to raise, drive, etc., with a pump.

2. to free from water or other liquid by means of a pump.

3. to inflate by pumping (often followed byup ).

   to pump a tire up.

4. to operate or move by an up-and-down or back-and-forth action.

5. to supply with air, as an organ, by means of a pumplike device.

6. to drive, force, etc., as if from a pump.

   He rapidly pumped a dozen shots into the bull's-eye.

7. to supply or inject as if by using a pump.

   to pump money into a failing business.

8. to question artfully or persistently to elicit information.

   to pump someone for confidential information.

9. to elicit (information) by questioning.

verb (used without object)

1. to work a pump; raise or move water, oil, etc., with a pump.

2. to operate as a pump does.

3. to move up and down like a pump handle.

4. to exert oneself in a manner likened to pumping.

   He pumped away at his homework all evening.

5. to seek to elicit information from a person.

6. to come out in spurts.

verb phrase

1. pump up

   1. to inflate.

   2. to increase, heighten, or strengthen; put more effort into or emphasis on; intensify.

      The store has decided to pump up its advertising.

   3. to infuse with enthusiasm, competitive spirit, energy, etc..

      The contestants were all backstage pumping themselves up for their big moment.

pump

²

[puhmp]

noun

1. a lightweight, low-cut shoe without fastenings for women.

2. a slip-on black patent leather shoe for men, for wear with formal dress.

pump

¹

/ pʌmp /

noun

1. any device for compressing, driving, raising, or reducing the pressure of a fluid, esp by means of a piston or set of rotating impellers

2. biology a mechanism for the active transport of ions, such as protons, calcium ions, and sodium ions, across cell membranes

   a sodium pump

verb

1. to raise or drive (air, liquid, etc, esp into or from something) with a pump or similar device

2. (tr; usually foll by in or into) to supply in large amounts

   to pump capital into a project

3. (tr) to deliver (shots, bullets, etc) repeatedly with great force

4. 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

5. (tr) to obtain (information) from (a person) by persistent questioning

6. (intr; usually foll by from or out of) (of liquids) to flow freely in large spurts

   oil pumped from the fissure

pump

²

/ pʌmp /

noun

1. a low-cut low-heeled shoe without fastenings, worn esp for dancing

2. a type of shoe with a rubber sole, used in games such as tennis; plimsoll

pump

1. A device used to raise or transfer fluids. Most pumps function either by compression or suction.

2. A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.

Other Word Forms

• pumpable adjective
• pumpless adjective
• pumplike adjective
• unpumpable adjective
• unpumped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pump¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English noun pumpe, pompe; cognate with German Pumpe, Dutch pomp

Origin of pump²

First recorded in 1720–30; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of pump¹

C15: from Middle Dutch pumpe pipe, probably from Spanish bomba, of imitative origin

Origin of pump²

C16: of unknown origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. pump iron. iron.

2. prime the pump,

   1. to increase government expenditure in an effort to stimulate the economy.

   2. to support or promote the operation or improvement of something.

Example Sentences

Roz held her son close, pumped her legs, and thundered across the valley.

Read more on Literature

In the Owens Valley, Los Angeles siphons water from Sierra streams and also pumps groundwater from wells.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He told senior U.S. officials that if his company couldn’t pump oil in Venezuela, China would do so instead and lay claim to the region’s oil riches.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He describes wildflowers as almost like little factories, pumping out beneficial bits of biodiversity that can help with food production.

Read more on BBC

The company has achieved several of its goals in 2025, including pumping out more than 1 million barrels of oil per day from the Permian Basin and finalizing a deal to acquire oil producer Hess.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• drain 
• draw 
• inject 
• pour 
• push 
• send 
• siphon 
• supply 
• tap 

When To Use

What else does pump mean?

Content warning: this article contains references to guns.Among many other slang senses, pump is short for pump-action shotgun, a type of shotgun that requires the user to change the shell with a pumping-like action.