lump

¹ American  

[luhmp] / lʌmp /

noun

• lumps
  plural

1. a piece or mass of solid matter without regular shape or of no particular shape.

   a lump of coal.

2. a protuberance or swelling.

   a blow that raised a lump on his head.

3. an aggregation, collection, or mass; clump.

   All the articles were piled in a great lump.

4. 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?

5. the greater part or number; a large number.

   The great lump of voters are still undecided.

6. Informal. lumps, harsh criticism, punishment, or defeat.

   The new theory came in for some lumps when other scholars heard of it.

7. Informal. a heavy, clumsy, and usually stupid person.

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adjective

1. in the form of a lump or lumps.

   lump sugar.

2. made up of a number of items taken together; not separated or considered separately.

   The debts were paid in one lump sum.

verb (used with object)

1. to unite into one aggregation, collection, or mass (often followed bytogether ).

   We lumped the reds and blues together.

2. to deal with, handle, consider, etc., in the lump or mass.

   to lump unrelated matters indiscriminately.

3. to make into a lump or lumps.

   to lump dough before shaping it into loaves.

4. to raise into or cover with lumps.

   a plow lumping the moist earth.

verb (used without object)

1. to form or raise a lump or lumps.

   Stir the gravy so that it doesn't lump.

2. to move heavily and awkwardly.

   The big oaf lumped along beside me.

idioms

1. 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.

lump ² American  

[luhmp] / lʌmp /

verb (used with object)

Informal.

1. to put up with; resign oneself to; accept and endure.

   If you don't like it, you can lump it.

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lump ¹ British  

/ lʌmp /

noun

1. a small solid mass without definite shape

2. pathol any small swelling or tumour

3. a collection of things; aggregate

4. informal an awkward, heavy, or stupid person

5. informal (plural) punishment, defeat, or reverses

   he took his lumps

6. 1. self-employed workers in the building trade considered collectively, esp with reference to tax and national insurance evasion

   2. ( as modifier )

      lump labour

7. (modifier) in the form of a lump or lumps

   lump sugar

8. a tight dry feeling in one's throat, usually caused by great emotion

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verb

1. to collect into a mass or group

2. (intr) to grow into lumps or become lumpy

3. (tr) to consider as a single group, often without justification

4. (tr) to make or cause lumps in or on

5. to move or proceed in a heavy manner

lump ² British  

/ lʌmp /

verb

1. informal (tr) to tolerate or put up with; endure (in the phrase lump it )

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lump More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing lump

• like it or lump it

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lumpingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lumps
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lump¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English lumpe, lomp(e); cognate with early Dutch lompe “piece,” Danish lump(e) “lump,” dialectal Norwegian lump “block”

Origin of lump²

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; perhaps identical with British dialect lump “to look sullen”

Explanation

If it's hard to determine its shape and otherwise looks like a big blob of something, it's probably safe to call it a lump. Jabba the Hut looks like a disgusting lump. So does the growing mound on your noggin where you walked into the glass door. And if you've been lumped together with a bad bunch, you might have been grouped with people indiscriminately. But all lumps aren't bad. Little old ladies put lumps of sugar into their tea. And that choked up feeling you get during a sappy movie? That's just a lump in your throat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lump lumps

They provide a fixed monthly check, rather than a lump sum that could lead to a single, irreversible bad financial decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Martinez told legislators at a hearing this year how his wife had found a lump in her breast and asked for an appointment with her longtime caregiver at Kaiser to examine it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

They also have to pay a lump sum in advance for their fuel, with domestic tanks typically holding between 1,000 and 2,000 litres.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

An annuity does this: You buy a contract from an insurance company, usually for a lump sum, and they pay you a monthly amount for the rest of your life.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

I feel the all-too-familiar lump rise in my throat.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

The next morning, she woke up to a "horrible realisation", feeling itchy with red lumps over her body and blood spots smeared on the bedding — the tell-tale signs of bed bugs, she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

"I still tease him, he used to kick lumps out of me in training at the 2006 World Cup. It's not true, he tells me. But I remember," said Messi.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Stir the chocolate until it’s smooth with no lumps.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

Under a shed in north India, women scoop cow dung, lumps of unrefined sugar and flour to produce biofertiliser -- part of a growing effort to tackle anxieties over the supply of chemical fertilisers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

I almost fell over the pail on its side, water spilled, the limpets hard little lumps.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Related Words

• bulge
• bump
• chunk
• hunk
• knot
• pile
• swelling
• tumor
• wad