sump

[ suhmp ]

noun

1. a pit, well, or the like in which water or other liquid is collected.
2. 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.
3. Mining.
   1. a space where water is allowed to collect at the bottom of a shaft or below a passageway.
   2. a pilot shaft or tunnel pushed out in front of a main bore.
4. British. crankcase.
5. British Dialect. a swamp, bog, or muddy pool.

sump

/ sʌmp /

noun

1. 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
2. another name for cesspool
3. mining
   1. a depression at the bottom of a shaft where water collects before it is pumped away
   2. the front portion of a shaft or tunnel, ahead of the main bore
4. dialect.
   a muddy pool or swamp

Word History and Origins

Origin of sump¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sump¹

C17: from Middle Dutch somp marsh; see swamp

Example Sentences

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.

From Popular-Science

Army “hot waste” dumping records indicate it left radioactive cooling water buried in a sump in the Greenland ice sheet.

From Popular-Science

Others show holes in netting around sump ponds meant to keep out wildlife and birds attracted by the shiny, sticky pools.

From ProPublica

Those vapors condense into a liquid later in the process and that “condensate” is collected in a storage area, called a sump.

From The Daily Beast

Then they install sump pumps to remove remnant toxic waters.

From The 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!

From Project Gutenberg

He put his leg up on a bench and an old gentleman seen sump'n stickin' out.

From Project Gutenberg

The average elevation that the water has to be raised is 65 feet, measuring from center of sump to point of delivery.

From Project Gutenberg

That was sumpty-sump years ago,” said Artie Van Arlen, “you have him in the third grade.

From Project Gutenberg

He had rather a fine horse, and in passing a sump-hole, his sled had skidded and slipped downhill into the water.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• lowland
• marshland
• wetlands