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

"We get really nice fruit and veg in, biscuits - last week we had some really nice rump steak which went down a storm."

From BBC

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

From The Wall Street Journal

I land, rump first, on what appears to be a gilded box owned by a pinch-faced peacock of a woman.

From Literature

He slapped Elwood on the rump, and the black Friesian took off into the woods, away from the fire.

From Literature

Finally, with one lurch forward, my rump escapes the rock, and I land on my side in the gravel at the bottom of the crevice.

From Literature

Related Words

• backside