lump
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lump
- /lʌmp/
- /lʊmp/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmp
Where it comes from
From Middle English lumpe, from a Germanic base akin to Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to glide, go, hang loosely”). Compare Dutch lomp (“rag”), German Low German Lump (“rag”), German Lumpen (“rag”) and Lump (“ragamuffin”).
noun lumps
- Something that protrudes, sticks out, or sticks together; a cluster or blob; a mound or mass of no particular shape. Stir the gravy until there are no more lumps.
- A swelling or nodule of tissue under the skin or in an internal part of the body. Lumps in the breasts are an indicator of breast cancer.
- A group, set, or unit. The money arrived all at once as one big lump sum payment.
- A small, shaped mass of sugar, typically about a teaspoonful. Do you want one lump or two with your coffee?
- A dull or lazy person. Don't just sit there like a lump.
- A fat person.
- A beating or verbal abuse. He's taken his lumps over the years.
- A projection beneath the breech end of a gun barrel.
- A kind of fish, the lumpsucker. You roast him [the fish] […] just like a lump.
- Food given to a tramp to be eaten on the road. “A lump,” explained The Whimperer […] “is wot a kin’ lady slips youse w’en youse batter de back door. If she invites youse in and lets youse t’row yer feet unner de table, it’s a set-down. If she slips youse a lunch in a poiper bag, it’s a lump. See? […]”
- The workhouse.
verb lumps · lumping · lumped
- To treat as a single unit; to group together in a casual or chaotic manner (as if forming an ill-defined lump of the items). People tend to lump turtles and tortoises together, when in fact they are different creatures.
- To bear (a heavy or awkward burden); to carry (something unwieldy) from one place to another. Well, a male body was brought to a certain surgeon by a man he had often employed, and the pair lumped it down on the dissecting table, and then the vendor received his money and went.
- To burden (someone) with an undesired task or responsibility. The Luftwaffe, at this point, was still refusing to play ball completely, however. But someone decided to lump Adolf Galland with command of the air operation, and he decided to work with Luftflotte 3, mobilizing their training units to make up the numbers, since large numbers of that particular for
- To hit or strike (a person). If that's the only way you can fight, then you'd better be prepared to get lumped.
- To form a lump or lumps. Thin the paint with mineral spirits for a medium consistency so that it will not drip or lump.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: clump, clod, glob, puffiness, swelling, hunk, lout, stumblebum, lubber, ball, lummox, klutz, oaf, goon, chunk, collocate
Translations
Every language
noun something that protrudes, sticks out, or sticks together; a cluster or blob; a mound, hill, or group
| Español | bulto, grumo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 塊 katamari, たんこぶ tankobu |
| 中文 | 塊 /块 kuài, 土粒 tǔlì |
| हिन्दी | गांठ gā̃ṭh |
| Português | pelota, saliência |
| Français | masse, tas, protubérance, renflement, bosse, motte |
| Deutsch | Klumpen, Kloß |
| Italiano | gonfiore, gnocco |
| Ελληνικά | βόλος vólos |
| Русский | вы́ступ výstup, ком kom, глы́ба glýba, комо́к komók, буго́р bugór |
| Tiếng Việt | đống |
| العربية | كُتْلَة kutla |
| עברית | גוש gush |
noun small, shaped mass of sugar
| Español | terrón |
|---|---|
| Português | torrão |
| Français | morceau |
| Deutsch | Stück (Würfelzucker m) |
| Italiano | cucchiaino, zolla, zolletta, forfait |
Talk about this word "lump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lump. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lump. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lump "lump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lump.Cite this
@misc{lump_2026,
title = {lump},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lump},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
