rump

[ruhmp]

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.

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• rumpless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rump¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rump¹

C15: from Scandinavian; compare Danish rumpe , Icelandic rumpr , German Rumpf trunk of the body

Example Sentences

But to prevent Hamas from reconstituting a rump state, the Arab “stabilization force” needs to get moving.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nestled beneath China's wide rump, it is once again on the frontline in a new American battle –which hopes to stem Beijing's rise as an economic superpower.

Read more on BBC

HTS has roots in al-Qaeda, though it broke with the group in 2016 and at times has fought its rump loyalists.

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Sloan and his fellow rich reactionaries established a rump anti-New Deal bloc, the American Liberty League, to lobby against FDR’s policies from inside the Democratic Party.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“We have to absolutely at any cost make sure that donkey’s rump Trump doesn’t get elected and destroy democracy,” Khosla said at a Bloomberg event.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• backside