sump
[ suhmp ]
/ sʌmp /
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.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!
Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
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
summon, summons, summum bonum, Sumner, sumo, sump, sump drain, sumph, sump pump, sumpsimus, sump syndrome
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for sump
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