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

"Many years ago I worked in Skewen and taught her niece. The whole family were lovely. I would often bump into her in local shops and restaurants and was she was always lovely," said Maggie.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 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

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

"Our approach is like taking a wide-angle camera inside the ballroom. Now we can see how the dancers are pairing up and paying attention to one another, so they don't bump into each other."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 27, 2026

In the halls between afternoon classes, she’d bump into me and apologize, or give a faint wave from a distance and mouth “Hi.”

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

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Related Words

• come across
• meet up with
• run into

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