bump

[ buhmp ]

verb (used with object)

1. to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike:

   His car bumped a truck.

2. to cause to strike or collide:

   He bumped the car against a tree.

3. to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
4. to dislodge by appropriating the privileges of:

   The airline bumped me from the flight.

5. to demote or dismiss:

   He was bumped from his job.

6. to force upward; raise:

   Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.

7. to move to a new position:

   We had to bump your story to next week's paper.

8. Digital Technology. to move (an online post or thread) to the top of the reverse chronological list by adding a new comment or post to the thread:

   I bumped the question I posted last week to make it more visible.

9. Poker. raise ( def 24 ).

verb (used without object)

1. to come in contact or collide with (often followed by against or into ):

   She bumped into me.

2. to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts:

   The old car bumped down the road.

3. to dance by thrusting the pelvis forward abruptly, in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat. Compare grind ( def 14 ).
4. to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.

noun

1. an act or instance of bumping; collision; blow.
2. the shock of a blow or collision.
3. a swelling or contusion from a blow.
4. a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance:

   He tripped over a bump on the sidewalk.

5. Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level:

   He got a bump to vice president of the company.

6. Informal. an increase in amount, especially of salary or a wager:

   He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.

7. Aeronautics. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
8. a dance movement in which the pelvis is abruptly thrust forward in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat. Compare grind ( def 20 ).
9. Mining. crump ( def 6 ).
10. Television. bumper ¹( def 9a ).

verb phrase

1. Slang. to kill, especially to murder:

   They bumped him off because he knew too much.

2. Informal. to meet by chance:

   I bumped into an old friend yesterday.

bump

/ bʌmp /

verb

1. whenintr, usually foll by against or into to knock or strike with a jolt
2. introften foll byalong to travel or proceed in jerks and jolts
3. tr to hurt by knocking

   he bumped his head on the ceiling

4. tr to knock out of place; dislodge

   the crash bumped him from his chair

5. tr to throw (a child) into the air, one other child holding each limb, and let him down again to touch the ground
6. (in rowing races, esp at Oxford and Cambridge) to catch up with and touch (another boat that started a fixed distance ahead)
7. cricket to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces high on pitching or (of a ball) to bounce high when bowled
8. intr to dance erotically by thrusting the pelvis forward (esp in the phrase bump and grind )
9. tr poker to raise (someone)
10. informal.
    tr to exclude a ticket-holding passenger from a flight as a result of overbooking
11. informal.
    tr to displace (someone or something) from a previously allocated position

    the story was bumped from the front page

12. bump uglies slang.
    to have sexual intercourse

noun

1. an impact; knock; jolt; collision
2. a dull thud or other noise from an impact or collision
3. the shock of a blow or collision
4. a lump on the body caused by a blow
5. a protuberance, as on a road surface
6. any of the natural protuberances of the human skull, said by phrenologists to indicate underlying faculties and character
7. a rising current of air that gives an aircraft a severe upward jolt
8. plural the act of bumping a child. See sense 5
9. rowing the act of bumping See bumping race
10. bump ball
    cricket a ball that bounces into the air after being hit directly into the ground by the batsman

Other Words From

• bump·ing·ly adverb
• un·bumped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bump¹

First recorded in 1560–70; imitative

Word History and Origins

Origin of bump¹

C16: probably of imitative origin

Idioms and Phrases

• goose pimples (bumps)
• like a bump on a log

Example Sentences

As Philip Bump of the Washington Post points out in this preliminary analysis:

From Salon

Microstrategy: The Bitcoin software company also got a nice postelection bump, with Trump’s victory leading its key currency to never-before-seen thresholds.

From Slate

The Transformers actress tagged the musician in a photo which showed her kneeling, covered in a black substance and cradling a baby bump.

From BBC

Months after sporting a fake baby belly in the music video for Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll’s “Lonely Road,” Megan Fox is showing off her bona fide bump.

From Los Angeles Times

He has certainly sparked the fair pay conversation, and this second series will surely give the industry another bump.

From BBC

Related Words

• bang
• bounce
• crash
• jerk
• knock
• punch
• rattle
• shake
• slam
• slap
• smack
• thump
• whack