sump

[ suhmp ]

/ sʌmp /

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noun

a pit, well, or the like in which water or other liquid is collected.

Machinery. a chamber at the bottom of a machine, pump, circulation system, etc., into which a fluid drains before recirculation or in which wastes gather before disposal.

Mining.

a space where water is allowed to collect at the bottom of a shaft or below a passageway.
a pilot shaft or tunnel pushed out in front of a main bore.

British. crankcase.

British Dialect. a swamp, bog, or muddy pool.

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Origin of sump

1375–1425; late Middle English sompe<Middle Low German or Middle Dutch sump; cognate with German Sumpf; akin to swamp

Words nearby sump

summoned, summons, summum bonum, Sumner, sumo, sump, sumph, sump pump, sumpsimus, sumpter, sumptuary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sump in a sentence

Low-lying places are more prone to this cooling, especially in sheltered valleys where winds can’t cause a stir, so they become a sump of cold air.
How a bewitching weather phenomenon took over a Maine town|Shi En Kim|January 25, 2022|Popular-Science
Army “hot waste” dumping records indicate it left radioactive cooling water buried in a sump in the Greenland ice sheet.
The US military’s first experiment with portable nuclear reactors was short and tragic|Purbita Saha|July 22, 2021|Popular-Science
Others show holes in netting around sump ponds meant to keep out wildlife and birds attracted by the shiny, sticky pools.
Are California Oil Companies Complying With the Law? Even Regulators Often Don’t Know.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun|March 22, 2021|ProPublica
Those vapors condense into a liquid later in the process and that “condensate” is collected in a storage area, called a sump.
Oil Tankers Leaking into Seattle’s Water|Bill Conroy|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Then they install sump pumps to remove remnant toxic waters.
Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero|Darren Aronofsky|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ef I aint done come traipsin' off en lef' my ole man money-pus, en he got sump'n' in dar w'at he won't take a purty fer, needer!
Nights With Uncle Remus|Joel Chandler Harris
He put his leg up on a bench and an old gentleman seen sump'n stickin' out.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899|Various
The average elevation that the water has to be raised is 65 feet, measuring from center of sump to point of delivery.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 446, July 19, 1884|Various
That was sumpty-sump years ago,” said Artie Van Arlen, “you have him in the third grade.
Tom Slade on the River|Percy K. Fitzhugh
He had rather a fine horse, and in passing a sump-hole, his sled had skidded and slipped downhill into the water.
The Trail of '98|Robert W. Service

British Dictionary definitions for sump

sump

/ (sʌmp) /

noun

a receptacle, such as the lower part of the crankcase of an internal-combustion engine, into which liquids, esp lubricants, can drain to form a reservoir

another name for cesspool

mining

a depression at the bottom of a shaft where water collects before it is pumped away
the front portion of a shaft or tunnel, ahead of the main bore

British dialect a muddy pool or swamp

Word Origin for sump

C17: from Middle Dutch somp marsh; see swamp

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sump

Origin of sump

Words nearby sump

Words related to sump

How to use sump in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sump

Word Origin for sump