hump

American  

[huhmp] / hʌmp /

noun

• humps
  plural

1. 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.

2. Physical Geography.

   1. a low, rounded rise of ground; hummock.

   2. a mountain or mountain range.

3. 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.

4. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. an act or instance of sexual intercourse.

   2. a partner in sexual intercourse.

5. the hump,

   1. British Slang. a fit of depression or bad humor.

      to get the hump.

   2. (initial capital letter) (in World War II) the Himalayas.

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verb (used with object)

• humps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• humped,
  past participle,  past
• humping
  present participle

1. to raise (the back) in a hump; hunch.

   The cat humped its back.

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

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

4. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

5. Slang.

   1. to place or bear on the back or shoulder.

   2. to carry or haul.

   3. to load or unload; lift.

verb (used without object)

• humps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• humped,
  past participle,  past
• humping
  present participle

1. to rise in a hump.

2. Informal. to exert oneself; hustle or hurry.

3. Slang: Vulgar. to engage in sexual intercourse.

idioms

1. 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.

hump British  

/ hʌmp /

noun

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

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

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

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

5. past the largest or most difficult portion of work, time, etc

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verb

1. to form or become a hump; hunch; arch

2. slang (tr) to carry or heave

3. slang to have sexual intercourse with (someone)

4. informal (of a tramp) to carry one's belongings from place to place on one's back

hump More Idioms  

1. see over the hump.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• humper
  noun
• humpless
  adjective
• humplike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• humps
  plural

Participles

• humping
  present
• humped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hump
  simple
• humps
  simple
• have humped
  perfect
• has humped
  perfect
• am humping
  progressive
• are humping
  progressive
• is humping
  progressive
• have been humping
  perfect progressive
• has been humping
  perfect progressive

Past

• humped
  simple
• had humped
  perfect
• was humping
  progressive
• were humping
  progressive
• had been humping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hump
  simple
• will have humped
  perfect
• will be humping
  progressive
• will have been humping
  perfect progressive

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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)”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hump humps humped humping

Some aspiring buyers are digging into retirement funds or seeking out government programs to help them get over the down-payment hump.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

He’ll be a critical part of the Chargers’ offense and a major factor in determining whether the franchise can get over the playoff hump.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Braun told me that managed security service providers offer a two-way benefit: it helps his project get over the scalability hump by pooling resources, while the small utilities benefit from a shared information environment.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

"Once you start to get over that hump and you get a win, you get another win, it sort of breeds confidence from there," he said.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

“If he sees you....How do you open the witch’s hump again?”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

These include building a bridge, improving signs, and putting in road humps and a chicane to slow down traffic.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 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

Projects typically include speed humps, narrower lanes, signs and landscaped barriers.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2022

As the glacier inched over humps and dips in the Cwm’s underlying strata, it fractured into countless vertical fissures—crevasses.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

“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

It has cloned critically endangered, double-humped wild Bactrian camels using the eggs and surrogate mothers of single humped camels, Wani said.

From Reuters ● May 25, 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

There was the ancient humped figure of Aunt Fannie Fenimore.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

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

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