bump Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a lump on the body caused by a blow
  2. noun something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings
    protrusion; extrusion; bulge; gibbousness; hump; prominence; swelling; excrescence; jut; gibbosity; protuberance.
    • the gun in his pocket made an obvious bulge
    • the hump of a camel
    • he stood on the rocky prominence
    • the occipital protuberance was well developed
    • the bony excrescence between its horns
  3. noun an impact (as from a collision)
    blow.
    • the bump threw him off the bicycle
  4. verb knock against with force or violence
    knock.
    • My car bumped into the tree
  5. verb come upon, as if by accident; meet with
    chance; happen; find; encounter.
    • We find this idea in Plato
    • I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here
    • She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day
  6. verb dance erotically or dance with the pelvis thrust forward
    • bump and grind
  7. verb assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
    break; demote; relegate; kick downstairs.
    • She was demoted because she always speaks up
    • He was broken down to Sergeant
  8. verb remove or force from a position of dwelling previously occupied
    dislodge.
    • The new employee dislodged her by moving into her office space

WordNet

Bump transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. W. pwmp round mass, pwmpiaw to thump, bang, and E. bum, v.i., boom to roar.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bumped present participle & verbal noun Bumping
Definitions
  1. To strike, as with or against anything large or solid; to thump; as, to bump the head against a wall.
Bump intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To come in violent contact with something; to thump. "Bumping and jumping." Southey.
Bump noun
Etymology
From Bump to strike, to thump.
Definitions
  1. A thump; a heavy blow.
  2. A swelling or prominence, resulting from a bump or blow; a protuberance.
    It had upon its brow A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone. Shak.
  3. (Phren.) One of the protuberances on the cranium which are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind; as, the bump of "veneration;" the bump of "acquisitiveness." Colloq.
  4. The act of striking the stern of the boat in advance with the prow of the boat following. Eng.
Bump intransitive verb
Etymology
See Boom to roar.
Definitions
  1. To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise, as the bittern; to boom.
    As a bittern bumps within a reed. Dryden.
Bump noun
Definitions
  1. The noise made by the bittern.

Webster 1913