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.
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.
noun
an act or instance of bumping; collision; blow.
the shock of a blow or collision.
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).
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).
