pump Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a mechanical device that moves fluid or gas by pressure or suction
noun the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body
heart; ticker.
- he stood still, his heart thumping wildly
noun a low-cut shoe without fastenings
verb operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
- pump the gas pedal
verb deliver forth
- pump bullets into the dummy
verb draw or pour with a pump
verb supply in great quantities
- Pump money into a project
verb flow intermittently
verb move up and down
- The athlete pumps weights in the gym
verb raise (gases or fluids) with a pump
verb question persistently
- She pumped the witnesses for information

Probably so called as being worn for pomp or ornament. See Pomp.

A low shoe with a thin sole. MW10 says "close-fitting shoe with moderate to high heel". Swift.

Akin to D. pomp, G. pumpe, F. pompe; of unknown origin.

An hydraulic machine, variously constructed, for raising or transferring fluids, consisting essentially of a moving piece or piston working in a hollow cylinder or other cavity, with valves properly placed for admitting or retaining the fluid as it is drawn or driven through them by the action of the piston. this definition is for a mechanical pump. A peristaltic pump would not fit this def. MW10: "a device that raises, transfers, or compresses fluids . . . by suction or pressure or both." ✍ for various kinds of pumps, see Air pump, Chain pump, and Force pump; also, under Lifting, Plunger, Rotary, etc. vacuum pump, a pump which creates a vacuum by removing gas (usually air) from a container. Mechanical vacuum pump, a vacuum pump operating by the motion of a piston or rotary blade in a chamber, as contrasted with an aspirator. Persistaltic pump, a pump transferring fluids by peristaltic action on a flexible tube. Such pumps are used where a gentle pumping action is desired, or the transferred fluid may be harmed in a mechanical pump; as in the infusion of fluids into blood vessels of the body, or the pumping of explosive or easily decomposed fluids.

imperfect & past participle Pumped present participle & verbal noun pumping

To raise with a pump, as water or other liquid.
To draw water, or the like, from; to from water by means of a pump; as, they pumped the well dry; to pump a ship.
Figuratively, to draw out or obtain, as secrets or money, by persistent questioning or plying; to question or ply persistently in order to elicit something, as information, money, etc.
But pump not me for politics. Otway.