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

"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

But they are really holding out to bump into a certain fellow Filipina in Indio.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The recent single 2Sided depicts a night where Parks was reluctant to leave the house; only finding motivation in the chance she'd bump into her crush.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

When Los Angeles was bidding for the Olympics, Wasserman flew around the world so that he could bump into International Olympic Committee officials, according to people familiar with the situation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

“Will he indeed? Well, you tell King Thingummy if you should bump into him again, that you’ve met Matthias the Warrior, and I don’t kill that easily, my bad-tempered little friend.”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• come across
• meet up with
• run into