hump

[ huhmp ]

/ hʌmp /

noun

a rounded protuberance, especially a fleshy protuberance on the back, as that due to abnormal curvature of the spine in humans, or that normally present in certain animals, as the camel or bison.

Physical Geography.

a low, rounded rise of ground; hummock.
a mountain or mountain range.

Railroads. (in a switchyard) a raised area down which cars pushed to its crest roll by gravity and momentum for automatic sorting through a series of preset switches.

Slang: Vulgar.

an act or instance of sexual intercourse.
a partner in sexual intercourse.

the hump,

British Slang. a fit of depression or bad humor: to get the hump.
(initial capital letter) (in World War II) the Himalayas.

verb (used with object)

to raise (the back) in a hump; hunch: The cat humped its back.

Railroads. to sort (cars) by means of a hump.

Informal. to exert (oneself) in a great effort.

Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

Slang.

to place or bear on the back or shoulder.
to carry or haul.
to load or unload; lift.

verb (used without object)

to rise in a hump.

Informal. to exert oneself; hustle or hurry.

Slang: Vulgar. to engage in sexual intercourse.

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Question 1 of 9

You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?

To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.

To stew in a sauce for a long time.

To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.

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Idioms for hump

over the hump, past the most difficult, time-consuming, or dangerous part or period: The doctor says she's over the hump now and should improve steadily.

Origin of hump

First recorded in 1700–10; probably abstracted from humpbacked; akin to Frisian hompe “lump, chunk,” Dutch homp “lump, chunk,” Middle Low German hump “bump,” Norwegian dialect hupp, hump “flank (of an animal),” or Low German humpel, hümpel “height, knob, hump (of a camel)”

OTHER WORDS FROM hump

humper, nounhumpless, adjective

Words nearby hump

humoresque, humorist, humorous, humour, humoursome, hump, humpback, humpbacked, humpback salmon, humpback whale, hump day

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for hump

If Democrats can get lower-propensity voters in the Rio Grande Valley and the big metro areas to turn out, I’m convinced we’d get over the hump.
The Trailer: The seven political states of Texas|David Weigel|October 4, 2020|Washington Post
It’s no longer Wednesday, but you should still check out our OZY hump day playlist.
This Weekend: A Sangria Slushie Summer|Fiona Zublin|August 7, 2020|Ozy
Diplomatic dispatches at the time, written by men who had no reason to lie to their own rulers, reported no hump or withered arm.
Unraveling King Richard III’s Secrets||February 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Also 2004: John Kerry kept it close but never got over the hump.
Barack Obama’s Cockiness Problem in His Contest With Mitt Romney|Michael Tomasky|April 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Despite 20 years of cycling between expectation and disappointment, I hump along with that aim in mind.
Author to Bestsellers: Drop Dead|Valerie Frankel|September 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In the former Bill Hurt longed to hump you and in the latter a large dog did just that in your role as an animal trainer.
Kathleen Turner's New Broadway High|Kevin Sessums|April 17, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Of course, not even a new Contract With America may be enough to help Republicans over the hump in 2010.
The GOP Replays 1994|Samuel P. Jacobs|October 12, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Our party made this specimen "hump himself," as the conductor said.
Roughing It|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
“And yet I am all here, Hump,” he wrote with a final flourish.
The Sea-Wolf|Jack London
The hump of the camel may also be said to contain a store of food.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale
A horse slept on three legs, in front of it, and a Hindu sat upon the seat like a hump on an elongated camel.
The Pacific Triangle|Sydney Greenbie
At its junction with the body a hump rises, which we whalers call the bunch of the neck.
Old Jack|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for hump

hump

/ (hʌmp) /

noun

a rounded protuberance or projection, as of earth, sand, etc

pathol a rounded deformity of the back in persons with kyphosis, consisting of a convex spinal curvature

a rounded protuberance on the back of a camel or related animal

the hump British informal a fit of depression or sulking (esp in the phrase it gives me the hump)

over the hump past the largest or most difficult portion of work, time, etc

verb

to form or become a hump; hunch; arch

(tr) British slang to carry or heave

slang to have sexual intercourse with (someone)

hump one's swag Australian and NZ informal (of a tramp) to carry one's belongings from place to place on one's back

Derived forms of hump

humplike, adjective

Word Origin for hump

C18: probably from earlier humpbacked

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with hump

hump

see over the hump.

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