bump

[buhmp] /bʌmp/
verb (used with object)
1.
to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike:
His car bumped a truck.
2.
to cause to strike or collide:
He bumped the car against a tree.
3.
to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
4.
Informal. to dislodge; to appropriate the privileges of:
When the general found there were no additional seats on the plane, he bumped a major. The airline bumped me from the flight.
5.
to demote, promote, or dismiss:
He was bumped from his job.
6.
Informal. to force upward; raise:
Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.
7.
Poker. raise (def 24).
verb (used without object)
8.
to come in contact or collide with (often followed by against or into):
She bumped into me.
9.
to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts:
The old car bumped down the road.
10.
to dance by thrusting the pelvis forward abruptly, in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
Compare grind (def 13).
11.
to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.
noun
12.
an act or instance of bumping; collision; blow.
13.
the shock of a blow or collision.
14.
a swelling or contusion from a blow.
15.
a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance:
He tripped over a bump on a road.
16.
Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level:
He got a bump to vice president of the company.
17.
Informal. an increase in amount, especially of salary or a wager:
He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.
18.
Aeronautics. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
19.
a dance movement in which the pelvis is abruptly thrust forward in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
Compare grind (def 19).
20.
Mining. crump (def 6).
Verb phrases
21.
bump into, Informal. to meet by chance:
I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
22.
bump off, Slang. to kill, especially to murder:
They bumped him off because he knew too much.
Origin
1560-70; imitative
Related forms
bumpingly, adverb
unbumped, adjective
Examples from the web for bump
  • They are serenely calm, they rise gently, and it takes faith not to worry they'll come down with a bump.
  • On a flat surface, an object covered with a piece of cloth would normally be detectable based on its telltale bump.
  • Dip in a hand or foot, and within seconds small fish will swarm, bump and nibble it.
  • But that means you can do it too and bump up your ratings.
  • Don't bump into any microphone stands if you're in a recording studio.
  • They are a little clumsy though and bump into things.
  • Now brokers are debating whether that sales bump was a one-time event driven by pent-up demand, or is likely to continue.
  • University lawyers often bump up against an athletics world where speed and money trump legal deliberation.
  • We've included only all-mountain equipment-there are no bump skis or halfpipe specialists in the bunch.
  • Each bump on the tyrannosaur is displacement mapped.
British Dictionary definitions for bump

bump

/bʌmp/
verb
1.
when intr, usually foll by against or into. to knock or strike with a jolt
2.
(intransitive) often foll by along. to travel or proceed in jerks and jolts
3.
(transitive) to hurt by knocking: he bumped his head on the ceiling
4.
(transitive) to knock out of place; dislodge: the crash bumped him from his chair
5.
(transitive) (Brit) to throw (a child) into the air, one other child holding each limb, and let him down again to touch the ground
6.
(in rowing races, esp at Oxford and Cambridge) to catch up with and touch (another boat that started a fixed distance ahead)
7.
(cricket) to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces high on pitching or (of a ball) to bounce high when bowled
8.
(intransitive) (mainly US & Canadian) to dance erotically by thrusting the pelvis forward (esp in the phrase bump and grind)
9.
(transitive) (poker) to raise (someone)
10.
(transitive) (informal) to exclude a ticket-holding passenger from a flight as a result of overbooking
11.
(transitive) (informal) to displace (someone or something) from a previously allocated position: the story was bumped from the front page
12.
(US, slang) bump uglies, to have sexual intercourse
noun
13.
an impact; knock; jolt; collision
14.
a dull thud or other noise from an impact or collision
15.
the shock of a blow or collision
16.
a lump on the body caused by a blow
17.
a protuberance, as on a road surface
18.
any of the natural protuberances of the human skull, said by phrenologists to indicate underlying faculties and character
19.
a rising current of air that gives an aircraft a severe upward jolt
20.
(pl) the act of bumping a child. See sense 5
21.
(rowing) the act of bumping See bumping race
22.
(cricket) bump ball, a ball that bounces into the air after being hit directly into the ground by the batsman
See also bump into, bump off, bump up
Word Origin
C16: probably of imitative origin
Word Origin and History for bump
n.

1590s, "protuberance caused by a blow;" 1610s as "a dull, solid blow;" see bump (v.). The dancer's bump and grind attested from 1940.

v.

1560s, "to bulge out;" 1610s, "to strike heavily," perhaps from Scandinavian, probably echoic, original sense was "hitting" then of "swelling from being hit." Also has a long association with obsolete bum "to make a booming noise," which perhaps influenced surviving senses such as bumper crop, for something full to the brim (see bumper). To bump into "meet" is from 1880s; to bump off "kill" is 1908 in underworld slang. Related: Bumped; bumping. Bumpsy (adj.) was old slang for "drunk" (1610s).

Slang definitions & phrases for bump

bump

noun
  1. A job promotion: I see old Pipkin has got the bump to full professor (1930s+)
  2. In dancing, a thrust of the pelvis: She unreeled about fifty bumps in dazzling staccato
  3. A drink; slug: They go out and have a bump of whiskey (1980s+)
  4. A party (1980s+ Teenagers)
verb
  1. To discharge; dismiss; fire: They bumped him for insubordination (1915+)
  2. To take away one person's status in order to accommodate someone of greater importance or seniority: A person is bumped by someone with a larger number of retention points (1860+ Railroad)
  3. To cancel a reserved seat on an airline, bus, etc, because the vehicle has been oversold: To be bumped means to be put off a flight because too many seats have been sold (1940s+)
  4. To displace a sports opponent by defeat: The Indians bumped the Tigers out of third place (1950s+)
  5. To kill; BUMP someone OFF (1910+)
  6. To make pregnant; KNOCK someone UP: She had to blame someone for bumping her (1930s+)
  7. To do the sex act with or to (1980s+ Students)
  8. To promote: He got bumped to assistant manager (1930s+)
  9. To raise a bet (1930s+ Poker)
  10. In dancing, esp in striptease, to thrust the pelvis forward and up •Nearly always in combination with grind (1940s+ Show business)
Related Terms

hump and bump, like a bump on a log


bump in Technology

Increment. E.g. C's ++ operator. It is used especially of counter variables, pointers and index dummies in "for", "while", and "do-while" loops.
(1994-11-29)
Idioms and Phrases with bump

bump

also see: