sump

American  

[suhmp] / sʌmp /

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.

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sump British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of sump

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

Example Sentences

Friends, my family included, have been scrounging for fans, dehumidifiers, and sump pumps to lend to friends affected by the flood.

From Slate • Aug. 9, 2024

Last week, Ford said it had offered a 9% wage increase through 2027 and 6% lump sump payments, much less than the 46% wage hike being sought by the union.

From Reuters • Sep. 7, 2023

Starting in 1974, Chevron subsidiary Union Oil Company of California had operated a sump pit for oil and gas production, a process that left the carcinogenic chemical benzene on the property, court papers said.

From Washington Times • Jun. 9, 2023

And right now “atmospheric rivers” are converging on my backyard where the sump pump is dead, another thing that needs resuscitation.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2023

It was cold and dead, and a foul sump of oily many-coloured ooze lay at its bottom.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• lowland
• marshland
• wetlands