lump
1 Americannoun
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lumps
plural
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a piece or mass of solid matter without regular shape or of no particular shape.
a lump of coal.
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a protuberance or swelling.
a blow that raised a lump on his head.
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an aggregation, collection, or mass; clump.
All the articles were piled in a great lump.
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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?
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the greater part or number; a large number.
The great lump of voters are still undecided.
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Informal. lumps, harsh criticism, punishment, or defeat.
The new theory came in for some lumps when other scholars heard of it.
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Informal. a heavy, clumsy, and usually stupid person.
adjective
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in the form of a lump or lumps.
lump sugar.
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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)
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to unite into one aggregation, collection, or mass (often followed bytogether ).
We lumped the reds and blues together.
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to deal with, handle, consider, etc., in the lump or mass.
to lump unrelated matters indiscriminately.
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to make into a lump or lumps.
to lump dough before shaping it into loaves.
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to raise into or cover with lumps.
a plow lumping the moist earth.
verb (used without object)
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to form or raise a lump or lumps.
Stir the gravy so that it doesn't lump.
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to move heavily and awkwardly.
The big oaf lumped along beside me.
idioms
verb (used with object)
noun
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a small solid mass without definite shape
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pathol any small swelling or tumour
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a collection of things; aggregate
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informal an awkward, heavy, or stupid person
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informal (plural) punishment, defeat, or reverses
he took his lumps
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self-employed workers in the building trade considered collectively, esp with reference to tax and national insurance evasion
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( as modifier )
lump labour
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(modifier) in the form of a lump or lumps
lump sugar
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a tight dry feeling in one's throat, usually caused by great emotion
verb
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to collect into a mass or group
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(intr) to grow into lumps or become lumpy
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(tr) to consider as a single group, often without justification
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(tr) to make or cause lumps in or on
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to move or proceed in a heavy manner
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing lump
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 main symptoms of breast cancer in women may include a lump, or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit, the NHS website says, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The cash value for Monday’s drawing if taken as a lump sum payment would be $391.9 million, game officials said in a news release.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Reframing a $1,200 purchase as a ~$40/month lease pulls forward real incremental demand from buyers who wanted to upgrade but balked at the lump sum,” Feinseth said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
When they retire, they’d collect the money in the account as a lump sum, plus their regular pension.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
A cold lump of fear grew in her stomach.
From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr
“AI investment” lumps together very different bets: foundational models, chips and compute, physical infrastructure and applications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Responding to criticism that the new district lumps together communities with little in common, Hickey argued that the United States itself is "a mix of different people," encompassing urban neighborhoods, affluent suburbs and rural communities.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 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
He shoveled mounds of food into his mouth, chewing for a few seconds and then washing the large lumps down with gulps of bottled water.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
