chump

¹ American  

[chuhmp] / tʃʌmp /

noun

1. Informal. a stupid person; dolt.

   Don't be a chump—she's kidding you along.

2. a short, thick piece of wood.

3. the thick, blunt end of anything.

4. Slang. the head.

---

idioms

1. off one's chump, crazy.

chump ² American  

[chuhmp] / tʃʌmp /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to bite or chew; munch.

---

chump ¹ British  

/ tʃʌmp /

noun

1. informal a stupid person

2. a thick heavy block of wood

3. 1. the thick blunt end of anything, esp of a piece of meat

   2. ( as modifier )

      a chump chop

4. slang the head (esp in the phrase off one's chump )

---

chump ² British  

/ tʃʌmp /

verb

1. a less common word for chomp

---

Other Word Forms

• chumpish adjective
• chumpishness noun

Etymology

Origin of chump¹

1695–1705; perhaps blend of chunk ¹ and lump ¹

Origin of chump²

First recorded in 1850–55; variant of champ ¹

Example Sentences

It calls me a chump when the stack is low and cheers for me when it reaches toward the ceiling.

From Los Angeles Times

“There was a relief that we had not been the chumps at the table,” said Jamie.

From Literature

I feel like we could whip up a Colin-Sings go fund me that would make Bargatze’s 100 grand look like chump change.

From Los Angeles Times

Jack Milne, heroic at the heart of an Aberdeen defence that performed a miraculous metamorphosis from mistake-ridden chumps to hugely resilient champs.

From BBC

Around the same time, I convinced my friend Sam that we couldn’t be just another pair of chumps at our parents’ offices on Career Day.

From Los Angeles Times