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bump

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bump¹

  • /bʌmp/
  • /bʌmp/ US
  • [bʌm̥p] US
  • [bɐm̥p] US
  • /bʊmp/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌmp

Where it comes from

From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision”), probably of North Germanic origin; compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”), all probably of imitative origin.

Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”). More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

noun bumps

  1. countable A light blow or jolting collision. His car had a tiny bump with a moving bus.
  2. countable The sound of such a collision. He heard a loud bump and saw the front part of his car was broken and the driver of the other car was running to apologise.
  3. broadly, countable, informal Any light sound. He heard bumps in the night.
  4. countable A fist bump. I held my fist up, and he gave me a bump before leaving.
  5. countable A car accident, usually a small one. I had a bump last time I drove into the city.
  6. countable A collision, especially a fall. Did you see the bump he took last night?
  7. countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable A dose of a drug, such as ketamine or cocaine, snorted; a small dose of a snorted drug. “They're getting their drugs mixed up,” she said. “If someone did a line of coke, it would be a very different size than if someone did a bump of ketamine, right? So if they're thinking it's cocaine and they do a line, they could go into a k-hole and be completely unable to move for hours. Maybe not
  8. countable, informal A conflict. It happens during Libra—in the Jewish culture, once a year, weeks after the New Year, you look behind and are asked to forgive whoever you had a bump with in the last year.
  9. countable, uncountable A protuberance on a flat surface or a straight line. Be careful of that bump in the road.
  10. countable, uncountable A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury. It had upon its brow / A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone.
  11. countable A bouffant hairstyle; the puffy upper part of such a hairstyle. She looks great with that bump Kelly gave her at the salon.
  12. countable The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman.

    Similar: baby bump

  13. countable, obsolete 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
  14. countable, dated, metonymically, obsolete, uncountable The faculty itself.
  15. countable, figuratively A small increase in an amount. His pay got a bump last month.
  16. countable, figuratively A small increase in excitement or interest. The addition of the fight scenes gave the story a little bump near the end, but overall, it bored me.
  17. countable, figuratively A temporary, usually small, increase in a quantity, such as is shown in a graph. US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings.
  18. London, countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable A ripoff or bad deal; an unjustly high price. I paid a hundred pounds for that, but it was a proper bump, mate.
  19. colloquial, countable, figuratively A minor problem or difficulty. "I'll try my best, but we still have a few bumps to work out," Ryder muttered.
  20. countable, uncountable The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.
  21. countable, uncountable The act of using one's forearm to strike the ball in a volleyball match.
  22. countable, uncountable In skipping, a single jump over two consecutive turns of the rope.
  23. countable, uncountable A sudden movement of underground strata, preceded by a characteristic sound.
  24. Internet, countable 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.
  25. countable, uncountable In the game of khanhoo, the act of claiming a newly discarded card when it is not one's turn, permitted when one can use the card to form a meld other than a sequence.
  26. US, slang, uncountable The sound and other sensations of a rhythm, especially in music with a strong, danceable beat, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response. The fetus can hear the bump of the mother's heartbeat.
  27. US, countable, slang A good song, especially a danceable one. His latest song is such a bump, I can't stop listening to it on repeat.
  28. US, slang, uncountable A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump their hips together. I saw him doing The Bump with her.
  29. countable A reassignment of jobs within an organization (for example, when an existing employee leaves) on the basis of seniority. For example, chain bumping, in which a bump by one employee initiates a series of consecutive bumps down a progression line before a layoff results, produces the greatest average number of reassignments per redundant employee.
  30. countable A demotion or promotion. He got a bump up into senior management.
  31. uncountable A coarse cotton fabric.
  32. countable, uncountable A training match for a fighting dog.
  33. countable, slang, uncountable The jaw of either of the middle pockets.
  34. US, countable A short, self-promotional spot on a radio or television station.
  35. US, countable, uncountable An undercover contact or staged encounter used to elicit information, prompt a reaction, or arrange a follow-up meeting with a suspect or person of interest.

verb bumps · bumping · bumped

  1. To knock against or run into with a jolt. Their car got bumped while they were turning at the junction.
  2. To move up or down by a step; displace. 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. As in [the online forum] carersvoicesnz, certain contributors were more visible, taking the initiative to "bump" the thread to bring it back into view if it went quiet.
  4. physical, of a superheated liquid To suddenly boil, causing movement of the vessel and loss of liquid. Heat 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. 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). A colleague emails with news that her 4:30 meeting got bumped to 3:30.
  7. transitive To pick (a lock) with a repeated striking motion that dislodges the pins.
  8. transitive To increase (a version number).
  9. archaic, intransitive To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise; to boom. as a bittern bumps within a reed
  10. dated To spread out material so as to fill any desired number of pages.
  11. slang, transitive To assassinate; to bump off. You know about the night the kid bumped Brody?
  12. transitive To displace (another employee in an organization) on the basis of seniority. Employees with 2 years or more, and less than 8 years plant seniority, may bump a probationary employee.
  13. colloquial, dated To anger, irritate. After his ancestors had been browbeaten by the Puritans, and his ancestors had been driven out by the early pioneers [...], if he learned that a magnificent bronze statue is to be erected to his ancestors; wouldn't it bump an Indian?
  14. In the game of khanhoo, to claim a newly discarded card when it is not one's turn, permitted when one can use the card to form a meld other than a sequence.
  15. slang To play music through a speaker, often loudly and in public.
  16. US, slang To encounter and stop, to catch.
  17. intransitive To move while bumping up and down, as a cart or car does on rough ground. The car bumped over the dirt road.
  18. slang, transitive To snort a small dose of cocaine or another drug; to do a bump of a drug. She bumped some of that coke off her house key.
  19. slang, transitive to evade fare collection in public transport If you can bump Dartford Station, you can get into Buckingham Palace.

interjection

  1. Internet Posted 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.

bump²

  • /bʌmp/
  • /bʌmp/ US
  • [bʌm̥p] US
  • [bɐm̥p] US
  • /bʊmp/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌmp

Where it comes from

From Early Modern English; onomatopoeic.

noun bumps

  1. countable, uncountable The breeding call made by the bittern; a boom.

verb bumps · bumping · bumped

  1. Of a bittern, to make its characteristic breeding call.

Bump³

proper noun

  1. A surname.

BUMP⁴

interjection

  1. Internet, alternative Alternative form of bump

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: knock, hit, blow, jut, protrusion, break, hump, protuberance, bulge, displace, encounter, demote, dislodge, gibbosity, gibbousness, find

Translations

Every language

noun a light blow or jolting collision

Françaisbourrade
DeutschSchlag, Stoß
Italianocolpetto, botta
Русскийстолкнове́ние stolknovénije, уда́р udár

noun the sound of such a collision

Portuguêsestrondo
Françaisboum
DeutschBums, Plumps

noun a protuberance on a level surface

Españolbache, bulto, gibosidad
Portuguêssaliência, protuberância
Françaisbosse, saillie
DeutschBodenwelle, Delle, Unebenheit
Italianobozzo, gnocco, protuberanza, gonfiore
Românăumflătură, proeminență
Русскийвы́пуклость výpuklostʹ, колдо́бина koldóbina, уха́б uxáb

noun a swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury

Españolchichón, tolondro, cototo, bulto, bollo
中文疙瘩 gēda
Portuguêsinchaço, galo
Françaisbosse
DeutschBeule
Italianobozzo, gnocco
Românăumflătură, cucui
Русскийши́шка šíška, о́пухоль ópuxolʹ

noun the swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman

Françaisballon
Italianopancione

noun phrenological protuberance and associated aptitude

Françaisbosse
Русскийшишка šiška

noun a post in an Internet forum thread made in order to raise the thread's profile

中文推 tuī

verb to knock against with a light blow or collision

Portuguêsbater, esbarrar
Françaisheurter, magner
Deutschanrempeln, anstoßen
Русскийударя́ться udarjátʹsja, уда́риться udáritʹsja, вреза́ться vrezátʹsja, вре́заться vrézatʹsja, ната́лкиваться natálkivatʹsja, натолкну́ться natolknútʹsja
Tiếng Việtchạm

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MLA

"bump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bump. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bump. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bump

Chicago

"bump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bump.

BibTeX
@misc{bump_2026,
  title = {bump},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bump},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}