lump
1a piece or mass of solid matter without regular shape or of no particular shape: a lump of coal.
a protuberance or swelling: a blow that raised a lump on his head.
an aggregation, collection, or mass; clump: All the articles were piled in a great lump.
Also called lump of sugar . a small block of granulated sugar, designed for sweetening hot coffee, tea, etc.: How many lumps do you take in your coffee?
the greater part or number; a large number: The great lump of voters are still undecided.
lumps, Informal. harsh criticism, punishment, or defeat: The new theory came in for some lumps when other scholars heard of it.
Informal. a heavy, clumsy, and usually stupid person.
in the form of a lump or lumps: lump sugar.
made up of a number of items taken together; not separated or considered separately: The debts were paid in one lump sum.
to unite into one aggregation, collection, or mass (often followed by together): We lumped the reds and blues together.
to deal with, handle, consider, etc., in the lump or mass: to lump unrelated matters indiscriminately.
to make into a lump or lumps: to lump dough before shaping it into loaves.
to raise into or cover with lumps: a plow lumping the moist earth.
to form or raise a lump or lumps: Stir the gravy so that it doesn't lump.
to move heavily and awkwardly: The big oaf lumped along beside me.
Idioms about lump
get / take one's lumps, to receive or endure hardship, punishment, criticism, etc.: Without its star pitcher, the baseball team will get its lumps today.
Origin of lump
1Other words from lump
- lump·ing·ly, adverb
Words Nearby lump
Other definitions for lump (2 of 2)
to put up with; resign oneself to; accept and endure: If you don't like it, you can lump it.
Origin of lump
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use lump in a sentence
You can lump unemployment policies into two broad categories—the US-style efforts that provide payments to people who have lost their jobs, and policies popular in Europe that provide money to companies to keep workers on the payroll.
Unlike spoons, spurtles allegedly don’t drag and prevent lumps.
That arrangement might look something like paying a lump sum, Shevchuck suggests, but Moran argues “in my experience, arrangements to collect money from employees who have departed are inherently problematic.”
As Trump’s payroll tax holiday kicks in, here’s what employers and employees need to know | Anne Sraders | September 1, 2020 | FortuneUpon closer inspection of a big lump of bones in the creature’s belly, Motani’s team discovered that the last thing the ichthyosaur ate was the body of a thalattosaur, sans head and tail.
This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself | Maria Temming | August 20, 2020 | Science NewsA pair of changes being rolled out to Apple’s operating systems has publishers lumping the device maker into that group as well.
‘A shady move’: Apple News+ Safari change automatically redirecting traffic to itself infuriates publishers | Max Willens | August 12, 2020 | Digiday
French President François Hollande is telling the French people they should “not lump them together.”
France’s Wave of Crazy-Terror Christmas Attacks | Christopher Dickey | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf the Americans are going to lump them together with ISIS, maybe best to join forces.
ISIS and Al Qaeda Ready to Gang Up on Obama's Rebels | Jamie Dettmer | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe one-time anti-bullying champion let his attorney seek to lump the victim together with the victimizer.
Ray Rice Should Have Remembered His 'Kindness' Anti-Bullying Wristband | Michael Daly | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne morning in late December, Sclove told me she awoke to discover a lump on her lower spine.
The lump, it turned out, was the result of a dislocated vertebrae.
Besides a few crumbs, it contained a small lump of narwhal blubber and a little packet.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneNow Isaias had ordered that they should take a lump of figs, and lay it as a plaster upon the wound, and that he should be healed.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousHe gulped back the lump in his throat; his trembling nerves became as steel.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnFurs should be kept in a box, alone, and in summer carefully packed, with a quantity of lump camphor to protect from moths.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyThere was a lump in Perry's throat at that moment, and he stopped his rocking and turned to the fire, so his back was toward me.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson Lloyd
British Dictionary definitions for lump (1 of 2)
/ (lʌmp) /
a small solid mass without definite shape
pathol any small swelling or tumour
a collection of things; aggregate
informal an awkward, heavy, or stupid person
(plural) US informal punishment, defeat, or reverses: he took his lumps
the lump British
self-employed workers in the building trade considered collectively, esp with reference to tax and national insurance evasion
(as modifier): lump labour
(modifier) in the form of a lump or lumps: lump sugar
a lump in one's throat a tight dry feeling in one's throat, usually caused by great emotion
(tr often foll by together) to collect into a mass or group
(intr) to grow into lumps or become lumpy
(tr) to consider as a single group, often without justification
(tr) to make or cause lumps in or on
(intr often foll by along) to move or proceed in a heavy manner
Origin of lump
1British Dictionary definitions for lump (2 of 2)
/ (lʌmp) /
(tr) informal to tolerate or put up with; endure (in the phrase lump it)
Origin of lump
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with lump
In addition to the idiom beginning with lump
- lump in one's throat
also see:
- like it or lump it
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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