pump
noun
an apparatus or machine for raising, driving, exhausting, or compressing fluids or gases by means of a piston, plunger, or set of rotating vanes.
had been pumping
-
past perfect progressiveof pump.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the time, Iger said Disney had been pumping out too many shows and movies to compete with Netflix and needed to retrench.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
She said she had run up to a Texas state trooper who had been pumping gas and had told him that she was fearful for her life.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2022
Rachael talked about a well she had been pumping in Texas some years ago that became covered in ice during the hottest days of summer.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 11, 2019
At about 9:40 a.m., the troop followed Moortgat’s lead into a forest that the Quantico Fire Department had been pumping with water all week because of a lack of rain.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2015
Over and over they were becoming weary and they felt like only the beating of their hearts had been pumping their legs the few extra kilometres to the rise.
From Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic
