bump into

British  

verb

1. informal (intr, preposition) to meet by chance; encounter unexpectedly

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bump into Idioms  

1. Also, bump against . Collide, come in contact with; same as bang into . For example, It's easy to bump into furniture in the dark . [Mid-1800s]

2. Encounter, meet by chance, as in While I was downtown, I bumped into George . [ Colloquial ; 1880s] Also see run into .

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bump into

"We observed that the atoms, which are only a few nanometers in size, bump into each other as if they were much larger," says Thywissen.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

Places built around private convenience look lonelier than places where daily routines force people to bump into one another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

We bump into Nile Rodgers, and a disco guitar drops into the mix.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Barely a day goes by where she doesn’t bump into former co-workers from the hospital — at the grocery store or the coffee shop or school pick-up.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

People bump into one another, carrying their children, covering their mouths, shielding their eyes.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• come across
• meet up with
• run into