Bump

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bÊŒmp/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒmp

Origin

From Early Modern English bump ("a shock, blow from a collision", also "to make a heavy, hollow sound, boom"), probably of origin. Compare Danish bump ("a thump"), Danish bumpe ("to thump"), Old Danish bumpe ("to strike with a clenched fist"). Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen ("to make a hollow noise"), Dutch bommen ("to hum, buzz"), German bummen ("to hum, buzz"), Icelandic bumba ("drum"), probably of imitative origin. More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

Full definition of bump

Noun

1. A light blow or jolting collision.
2. The sound of such a collision.
3. A protuberance on a level surface.
4. A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury.
• ShakespeareIt had upon its brow
  A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone.
5. One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind.the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness
6. (rowing) The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.
7. The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman.
8. (Internet) A post in an Internet forum thread made in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
9. A temporary increase in a quantity, as shown in a graph.US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings.
10. (slang) A dose of a drug such as ketamine or cocaine, when snorted recreationally.
11. The noise made by the bittern; a boom.
12. A coarse cotton fabric.
13. A training match for a fighting dog.

Derived terms

Verb

1. To knock against or run into with a jolt.
2. To move up or down by a step.I bumped the font size up to make my document easier to read.
3. (Internet) To post in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
4. (chemistry, of a superheated liquid) To suddenly boil, causing movement of the vessel and loss of liquid.
• 1916, Albert Prescott Mathews, Physiological chemistryHeat until the liquid bumps, then reduce the heat and continue the boiling for 1½ hours.
5. (transitive) To move (a booked passenger) to a later flight because of earlier delays or cancellations.
• 2005, Lois Jones, EasyJet: the story of Britain's biggest low-cost airline (page 192)Easyjet said the compensation package for passengers bumped off flights was 'probably the most flawed piece of European legislation in recent years'...
6. (transitive) To move the time of a scheduled event.
• 2010, Nancy Conner, Matthew MacDonald, Office 2010: The Missing Manual, p. 332:A colleague emails with news that her 4:30 meeting got bumped to 3:30.
7. (archaic) To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise; to boom.
• Drydenas a bittern bumps within a reed

Derived terms