rump

American  

[ruhmp] / rʌmp /

noun

1. the hind part of the body of an animal, as the hindquarters of a quadruped or sacral region of a bird.

2. a cut of beef from this part of the animal, behind the loin and above the round.

3. the buttocks.

4. the last part, especially that which is unimportant or inferior.

   a rump of territory.

5. the remnant of a legislature, council, etc., after a majority of the members have resigned or been expelled.

6. English History. the Rump, Rump Parliament.

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adjective

1. constituting a subsidiary or small group or the remnant of a once larger organization.

   Our local Shakespeare Club will hold a rump meeting at the Elizabethan Drama Teachers' convention.

rump British  

/ rʌmp /

noun

1. the hindquarters of a mammal, not including the legs

2. the rear part of a bird's back, nearest to the tail

3. a person's buttocks

4. Also called: rump steak.  a cut of beef from behind the loin and above the round

5. an inferior remnant

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Other Word Forms

• rumpless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of rump

1375–1425; late Middle English rumpe < Scandinavian; compare Danish, Norwegian, Swedish rumpe rump, tail; cognate with German Rumpf body, trunk

Example Sentences

Of the rump of 55 seats Fidesz will occupy in the new Parliament, currently only 12 are from individual constituencies, and the rest are from the party lists.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

He had just separated the new Muslim state of Pakistan from the now-independent rump of largely Hindu India.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

Water and other specialties stay behind in the rump DuPont.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 9, 2025

But when the show’s first Hamlet, ambulated by an Oxford-trained actor named Dipo Ola, performs a few lines, he’s instantly more compelling than the sight of ParTeb shaking his rump.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2025

He lightly smacked the mower, the way you might pat a horse on the rump.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

• backside