hump
Americannoun
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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.
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Physical Geography.
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a low, rounded rise of ground; hummock.
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a mountain or mountain range.
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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.
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Slang: Vulgar.
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an act or instance of sexual intercourse.
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a partner in sexual intercourse.
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the hump,
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British Slang. a fit of depression or bad humor.
to get the hump.
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(initial capital letter) (in World War II) the Himalayas.
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verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to rise in a hump.
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Informal. to exert oneself; hustle or hurry.
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Slang: Vulgar. to engage in sexual intercourse.
idioms
noun
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a rounded protuberance or projection, as of earth, sand, etc
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pathol a rounded deformity of the back in persons with kyphosis, consisting of a convex spinal curvature
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a rounded protuberance on the back of a camel or related animal
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informal a fit of depression or sulking (esp in the phrase it gives me the hump )
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past the largest or most difficult portion of work, time, etc
verb
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to form or become a hump; hunch; arch
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slang (tr) to carry or heave
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slang to have sexual intercourse with (someone)
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informal (of a tramp) to carry one's belongings from place to place on one's back
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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humpsimple
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humpssimple
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have humpedperfect
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has humpedperfect
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am humpingprogressive
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are humpingprogressive
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is humpingprogressive
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have been humpingperfect progressive
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has been humpingperfect progressive
Past
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humpedsimple
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had humpedperfect
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was humpingprogressive
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were humpingprogressive
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had been humpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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)”
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.
See Examples For:
The Clippers, meanwhile, are still trying to get over the hump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Researchers believe the hump may have played a role in courtship displays.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS—For 37 years, Michigan basketball just couldn’t get over the hump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
"Perhaps we got carried away by the response to tourism in Kashmir. We thought we were over a hump but we were not."
From BBC ● May 17, 2025
She is hunched over, her dowager’s hump forcing her to face her lap.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Going into the second book, it was about trying to get over life’s humps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
Shortly after, city officials expedited the hiring of crossing guards, started a program to add speed humps near 70 schools, and reduced speeds around 250 schools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
The eyes dart back and forth across the desert landscape, detecting rocks, dips and humps, variations in sand color flashing into view like a real-life scene from “Mad Max.”
From Washington Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
He points to one line in English script, where an impatient character complains that "camels will sprout wings on their humps" if they have to wait any longer.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2023
If we’d taken a right turn past it, we’d go onto the bridge that humps over the river—or it used to.
From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt
“The rain has swollen the river to a thick brown muscle, humped up in the middle by its own force,” Cal notices, inspecting the ground where Rachel’s body was found.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
It was in a humped position while walking and seemed unable to move, indicating severe abdominal pain, officers said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
For four months, state and federal officials have sanctioned a hunt of the shaggy, humped animals that delight millions of tourists and are a centerpiece of Native American culture and history.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
With its distinctive humped upper deck, it’s the only airplane many flyers can recognize on first sight.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
And right beside them went my doe, running all humped up and with her white, pointed tail clamped tight to her rump.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
Training a dog to stop humping may be difficult, as it is often a compulsive behavior.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2019
Give Logan Paul a camera and put him in an elevator and he will probably start humping the handrail, or pressing every single button, or something even more stupid.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2018
“Every person I know is humping it, and he or she gained that ethic from growing up in the inner city,” he writes persuasively.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2015
Mr. Hetherington broke his leg on a mission and had to walk four hours down a mountain on it, humping his gear, to get back to camp.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2011
Across the school grounds and in the woods and in backyards and in every corner of the county, pumpjacks continue their slow rhythm, humping at the earth.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
