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humpback

[ huhmp-bak ]
/ ˈhʌmpˌbæk /
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noun
a back that is humped in a convex position.
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Origin of humpback

First recorded in 1690–1700; apparently back formation from humpbacked
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use humpback in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for humpback

humpback
/ (ˈhʌmpˌbæk) /

noun
another word for hunchback
Also called: humpback whale a large whalebone whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, closely related and similar to the rorquals but with a humped back and long flippers: family Balaenopteridae
a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, the male of which has a humped back and hooked jaws
Also called: humpback bridge British a road bridge having a sharp incline and decline and usually a narrow roadway

Derived forms of humpback

humpbacked, adjective

Word Origin for humpback

C17: alteration of earlier crumpbacked, perhaps influenced by hunchback; perhaps related to Dutch homp lump
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
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