pump

¹ American  

[puhmp] / pʌmp /

noun

1. an apparatus or machine for raising, driving, exhausting, or compressing fluids or gases by means of a piston, plunger, or set of rotating vanes.

2. Engineering, Building Trades. a shore having a jackscrew in its foot for adjusting the length or for bearing more firmly against the structure to be sustained.

3. Biology. an animal organ that propels fluid through the body; heart.

4. Cell Biology. a system that supplies energy for transport against a chemical gradient, as the sodium pump for the transfer of sodium and potassium ions across a cell membrane.

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verb (used with object)

• pumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pumped,
  past participle,  past
• pumping
  present participle

1. to raise, drive, etc., with a pump.

2. to free from water or other liquid by means of a pump.

3. to inflate by pumping (often followed byup ).

   to pump a tire up.

4. to operate or move by an up-and-down or back-and-forth action.

5. to supply with air, as an organ, by means of a pumplike device.

6. to drive, force, etc., as if from a pump.

   He rapidly pumped a dozen shots into the bull's-eye.

7. to supply or inject as if by using a pump.

   to pump money into a failing business.

8. to question artfully or persistently to elicit information.

   to pump someone for confidential information.

9. to elicit (information) by questioning.

verb (used without object)

• pumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pumped,
  past participle,  past
• pumping
  present participle

1. to work a pump; raise or move water, oil, etc., with a pump.

2. to operate as a pump does.

3. to move up and down like a pump handle.

4. to exert oneself in a manner likened to pumping.

   He pumped away at his homework all evening.

5. to seek to elicit information from a person.

6. to come out in spurts.

verb phrase

1. pump up

   1. to inflate.

   2. to increase, heighten, or strengthen; put more effort into or emphasis on; intensify.

      The store has decided to pump up its advertising.

   3. to infuse with enthusiasm, competitive spirit, energy, etc..

      The contestants were all backstage pumping themselves up for their big moment.

idioms

1. pump iron. iron.

2. prime the pump,

   1. to increase government expenditure in an effort to stimulate the economy.

   2. to support or promote the operation or improvement of something.

pump ² American  

[puhmp] / pʌmp /

noun

1. a lightweight, low-cut shoe without fastenings for women.

2. a slip-on black patent leather shoe for men, for wear with formal dress.

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pump ¹ British  

/ pʌmp /

noun

1. a low-cut low-heeled shoe without fastenings, worn esp for dancing

2. a type of shoe with a rubber sole, used in games such as tennis; plimsoll

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pump ² British  

/ pʌmp /

noun

1. any device for compressing, driving, raising, or reducing the pressure of a fluid, esp by means of a piston or set of rotating impellers

2. biology a mechanism for the active transport of ions, such as protons, calcium ions, and sodium ions, across cell membranes

   a sodium pump

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verb

1. to raise or drive (air, liquid, etc, esp into or from something) with a pump or similar device

2. (tr; usually foll by in or into) to supply in large amounts

   to pump capital into a project

3. (tr) to deliver (shots, bullets, etc) repeatedly with great force

4. to operate (something, esp a handle or lever) in the manner of a pump or (of something) to work in this way

   to pump the pedals of a bicycle

5. (tr) to obtain (information) from (a person) by persistent questioning

6. (intr; usually foll by from or out of) (of liquids) to flow freely in large spurts

   oil pumped from the fissure

pump Scientific  

/ pŭmp /

1. A device used to raise or transfer fluids. Most pumps function either by compression or suction.

2. A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.

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Usage

What else does pump mean? Content warning: this article contains references to guns. Among many other slang senses, pump is short for pump-action shotgun, a type of shotgun that requires the user to change the shell with a pumping-like action.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pumpable
  adjective
• pumpless
  adjective
• pumplike
  adjective
• unpumpable
  adjective
• unpumped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• pumping
  present
• pumped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pump
  simple
• pumps
  simple
• have pumped
  perfect
• has pumped
  perfect
• am pumping
  progressive
• are pumping
  progressive
• is pumping
  progressive
• have been pumping
  perfect progressive
• has been pumping
  perfect progressive

Past

• pumped
  simple
• had pumped
  perfect
• was pumping
  progressive
• were pumping
  progressive
• had been pumping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pump
  simple
• will have pumped
  perfect
• will be pumping
  progressive
• will have been pumping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pump¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English noun pumpe, pompe; cognate with German Pumpe, Dutch pomp

Origin of pump²

First recorded in 1720–30; origin uncertain

Explanation

A pump is a machine that sucks up liquid from one place and moves it somewhere else, like a gas pump. If you’re pumped about this word, you can put on pumps, pump up the volume, and pump some iron! When you use the device called a pump, you pump water or gas. Other things that force some liquid or gas to move, also pump: your heart pumps blood, and your foot pumps the brake of your car when you're stopping on an icy road. If you pump iron, you lift weights. If you’re pumped, you’re excited. “Pump Up the Volume” was a hit song in 1987, so turn it up. A pump is also a woman's dress shoe.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pump pumps pumped pumping

Instead, the researchers used a powerful beam of light, known as the pump, with a carefully designed pattern that temporarily altered the optical behavior of a material.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

Inflation in the U.K. rose again in August to 3.1%, above the BOE’s 2% target, mostly driven by rising prices at the pump and household energy costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

That signals more pain at the pump for diesel buyers already staring down all-time highs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

For two months, unions have been demanding state intervention to reduce pump prices which they say have driven up the cost of essential goods and transport.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

He hung the cup back up by the pump.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Prices at U.S. pumps are expected to remain higher for longer, as the physical market for oil products remains tight.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

The actions along the Mediterranean coast to bar access to the harbours of Nice and Sete, and a depot in Frontignan, come as petrol prices at French pumps near an all-time high.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

So does switching to renewable energy and electrifying energy use with EVs and heat pumps, which replace furnaces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

As well as directly driving up costs at the pumps, higher oil prices can also make transporting goods more expensive.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

My heart pumps eagerly at the thought of seeing him in just a few short minutes.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

It is then pumped into a depleted oil field nearly 200 miles off shore.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

At the project in Esbjerg in the south west of Denmark, carbon captured from around the country arrives in huge zeppelin-like tanks before being pumped into a ship called Carbon Destroyer 1.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Once adopted, the state plan will set rules that determine how much water can be pumped out of the Delta and how much should stay in rivers and the estuary for fish and the environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Performing regularly on his variety show introduced her to an audience of millions, and the pair pumped out popular duet albums.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Men pumped endless buckets of water and carried them aloft to douse the sails so they would catch what little breeze blew.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

The fast-fashion company became a juggernaut by pumping out a never-ending supply of clothes at super-cheap prices, creating a constant churn of microtrends for consumers to chase.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

One of the pipeline’s pumping stations was attacked in April, offering a proxy for the recent disruption and an eventual recovery, Shah said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

The only question was how tired he felt pumping his legs as the grass got thicker.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Thursday’s attacks targeted several pumping stations, the Saudi official said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The idea of it gets my adrenal glands pumping.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

• drain
• draw
• inject
• pour
• push
• send
• siphon
• supply
• tap