bumper

¹ American  

[buhm-per] / ˈbʌm pər /

noun

1. a person or thing that bumps.

2. a metal guard, usually horizontal, for protecting the front or rear of an automobile, truck, etc.

3. any protective rim, guard, pad, or disk for absorbing shock and preventing damage from bumping as a rubber-tipped doorstop or an old tire on the side of a boat.

4. a cup or glass filled to the brim, as with beer.

5. Informal. something unusually large.

6. a person who molds bricks by hand.

7. Foundry. a machine for ramming sand into a mold.

8. a carangid fish, Chlorosombrus chrysurus, of southern U.S. and Cuban coastal seas.

9. Television.

   1. Also called bumper tease. Also bump in a news program, a brief teaser coming at the end of a segment just before commercials, announcing or previewing a forthcoming story.

   2. Also called commercial bumper, break bumper. a brief interval of music, graphics, or voiceover serving as a transition between program and advertising content.

---

adjective

1. unusually abundant.

   Bumper crops reaped a big profit for local farmers.

verb (used with object)

1. to fill to the brim.

bumper ² American  

[buhm-per] / ˈbʌm pər /

noun

Australian Slang.

1. the unconsumed end of a cigarette; cigarette butt.

---

bumper ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌmpə /

noun

1. a glass, tankard, etc, filled to the brim, esp as a toast

2. an unusually large or fine example of something

---

adjective

1. unusually large, fine, or abundant

   a bumper crop

verb

1. (tr) to toast with a bumper

2. (tr) to fill to the brim

3. (intr) to drink bumpers

bumper ² British  

/ ˈbʌmpə /

noun

1. a horizontal metal bar attached to the front or rear end of a car, lorry, etc, to protect against damage from impact

2. a person or machine that bumps

3. cricket a ball bowled so that it bounces high on pitching; bouncer

---

bumper ³ British  

/ ˈbʌmpə /

noun

1. old-fashioned a cigarette end

---

Etymology

Origin of bumper¹

First recorded in 1750–60; bump + -er ¹

Origin of bumper²

First recorded in 1890–95; expressive coinage, perhaps blend of butt ¹ and stump + -er ¹

---

Explanation

A bumper is the curved bar across the front of a car that protects it from getting dented or scratched during minor accidents. If you bump into your mailbox, you may damage your car's bumper. A car's bumper is designed to absorb as much impact as possible, protecting the more important parts of the car. A bumper car at a carnival is made to be slammed into other bumper cars — the bumpers help keep riders safe from injury, while the cars travel too slowly to cause damage. The earliest bumpers, in the 1830s, were on the front of trains. The phrase "bumper-to-bumper traffic" means an unusually dense traffic jam.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bumper

After bumper second-quarter profits both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics announced buybacks totalling $40 billion that were completed earlier than expected in mid-October.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Lancashire forager Colin Unsworth said some species had appeared in "bumper" numbers, although others had been harder to find.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Markets had been expecting a bumper third quarter following an ebullient start to the year crowned by SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO in June, Mergermarket’s head of global equity capital markets Samuel Kerr said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The cameras compile license plate numbers and other identifying information, including make, model, paint color, dents and bumper stickers.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

But all he does is reach for the rope from the terrified driver and loop one end into the lid and then through the bumper and knot them tightly together.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• ample
• bountiful
• fertile
• generous
• productive
• prolific
• sufficient
• unlimited

---