bump
Americanverb (used with object)
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bumps,
present (3rd person singular)
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bumped,
past participle, past
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bumping
present participle
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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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bumps,
present (3rd person singular)
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bumped,
past participle, past
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bumping
present participle
-
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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bumps
plural
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bumpsimple
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bumpssimple
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have bumpedperfect
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has bumpedperfect
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am bumpingprogressive
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are bumpingprogressive
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is bumpingprogressive
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have been bumpingperfect progressive
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has been bumpingperfect progressive
Past
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bumpedsimple
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had bumpedperfect
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was bumpingprogressive
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were bumpingprogressive
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had been bumpingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
Other experts say schools experience an initial bump in applications after a tuition-cut announcement but not a long-term boost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
To make matters worse in Europe, recent high temperatures have stretched the continent’s period of peak demand for summer air travel, creating a late-season bump in demand for jet fuel.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
"We could have done without this bump in the road," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
He threatens a network, and the network gets a bump in attention.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
I’m so lost in thought that I nearly bump into Professor Swann, out for his morning walk.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
But there were more bumps in the road for Detroit, which by November was still a dismal 3-6.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
In fact, the pay bumps to move within the industry have been growing larger as the year progresses, she said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
You may have waited until you turned 70 for those extra 8% annual bumps beyond FRA, or you may not.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Businesses are also willing to give more sizable pay bumps to people whose leadership, judgment and interpersonal skills would be hard to replace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Pong's pulse beat fast in his ears, and goose bumps ran down the backs of his arms.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
At a punk show, a singer’s tooth was chipped when a crowd member bumped into the microphone, prompting a reminder to tone down the rowdiness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Getting bumped from a seat you paid for is becoming a bigger issue, but you have rights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
After jumping 25 basis points in two weeks, the 10-year Treasury yield bumped up only 3 basis points to 4.97%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026
The lab technician from Benson said Dizzee told him he was "just seeing a friend" when he bumped into him in the street.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
She bumped into another tree and pinballed through the heavy smoke and heat, Sue staggering along behind her.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
"After having lived here my whole life, it's funny walking down the streets of Belfast and bumping into people that I know wearing my full police costume," Braniff says.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
The key borrowing benchmark is either bumping along a post-financial crisis high, or stepping into a new era of higher rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Another sign of tepid hiring: The average increase in wages was just 3% in the 12 months that ended in August, bumping along prepandemic lows.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
The newfound attention was prompted by a fan bumping into him at a L.A. grocery store and sharing a selfie with the actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
As Betsie and I stumbled down the hill, I felt the Bible bumping between my shoulder blades.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
