Library / English Dictionary

BUMP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An impact (as from a collision)

Example:

the bump threw him off the bicycle

Synonyms:

blow; bump

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("bump" is a kind of...):

impact (the striking of one body against another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bump"):

jar; jolt; jounce; shock (a sudden jarring impact)

concussion (any violent blow)

rap; strike; tap (a gentle blow)

bang; bash; belt; knock; smash (a vigorous blow)

buffeting; pounding (repeated heavy blows)

sideswipe (a glancing blow from or on the side of something (especially motor vehicles))

slap; smack (a blow from a flat object (as an open hand))

Derivation:

bump (knock against with force or violence)

bumpy (causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings

Example:

the bony excrescence between its horns

Synonyms:

bulge; bump; excrescence; extrusion; gibbosity; gibbousness; hump; jut; prominence; protrusion; protuberance; swelling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("bump" is a kind of...):

projection (any solid convex shape that juts out from something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bump"):

wart (any small rounded protuberance (as on certain plants or animals))

snag (a sharp protuberance)

nub; nubble (a small lump or protuberance)

mogul (a bump on a ski slope)

caput (a headlike protuberance on an organ or structure)

belly (a part that bulges deeply)

occipital protuberance (prominence on the outer surface of the occipital bone)

frontal eminence (either prominence of the frontal bone above each orbit)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A lump on the body caused by a blow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("bump" is a kind of...):

harm; hurt; injury; trauma (any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Knock against with force or violence

Example:

My car bumped into the tree

Synonyms:

bump; knock

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "bump" is one way to...):

collide with; hit; impinge on; run into; strike (hit against; come into sudden contact with)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Also:

bump into (collide violently with an obstacle)

Derivation:

bump (an impact (as from a collision))

bumper (a mechanical device consisting of bars at either end of a vehicle to absorb shock and prevent serious damage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Remove or force from a position of dwelling previously occupied

Example:

The new employee dislodged her by moving into her office space

Synonyms:

bump; dislodge

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "bump" is one way to...):

displace (cause to move, usually with force or pressure)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bump"):

throw (cause to fall off)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Dance erotically or dance with the pelvis thrust forward

Example:

bump and grind

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "bump" is one way to...):

dance; trip the light fantastic; trip the light fantastic toe (move in a pattern; usually to musical accompaniment; do or perform a dance)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They bump

Sense 4

Meaning:

Come upon, as if by accident; meet with

Example:

She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day

Synonyms:

bump; chance; encounter; find; happen

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Assign to a lower position; reduce in rank

Example:

He was broken down to Sergeant

Synonyms:

break; bump; demote; kick downstairs; relegate

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "bump" is one way to...):

assign; delegate; depute; designate (give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bump"):

sideline (remove from the center of activity or attention; place into an inferior position)

reduce (bring to humbler or weaker state or condition)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s something PP

Also:

bump off (kill intentionally and with premeditation)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Chances are you've bumped your head before.

(Head Injuries, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

In a moment the creature, beating and bumping along the wall like a huge moth within a gas-shade, came upon the opening, squeezed its hideous bulk through it, and was gone.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A 3.6-degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature bumped up plants' production of leaves and flowers by about five and six days, respectively.

(Urbanization delays spring plant growth in warm regions, National Science Foundation)

At last, however, the bumping of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive, and the carriage came to a stand.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Of course they bumped their heads smartly together, saw stars, and both came up flushed and laughing, without the ball, to resume their seats, wishing they had not left them.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Thus, when he had bumped his nose on the back-wall a few times, he accepted that he would not disappear into walls.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I have the bump of location.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

All by itself, Greenland could bump sea levels by 7 meters if its ice melted completely.

(The Hidden Meltdown of Greenland, NASA)

The pigeon-pie was not bad, but it was a delusive pie: the crust being like a disappointing head, phrenologically speaking: full of lumps and bumps, with nothing particular underneath.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A blister or a bump appears on the skin following the scratch or bite.

(Cat-Scratch Disease, NCI Thesaurus)