bump

Noun (1)

bump (countable and uncountable, plural bumps)

1. (countable) A light blow or jolting collision.
   • His car had a tiny bump with a moving bus.
   1. (countable) The sound of such a collision.
      • He heard a loud bump and saw the front part of his car was broken and the driver of the other car was running to apologise.
   2. (broadly, countable, informal) Any light sound.
      • He heard bumps in the night.
   3. (countable) A fist bump.
      • I held my fist up, and he gave me a bump before leaving.
   4. (countable) A car accident, usually a small one.
      • I had a bump last time I drove into the city.
   5. (countable) A collision, especially a fall.
      • Did you see the bump he took last night?
   6. (figuratively, slang) A dose of a drug, such as ketamine or cocaine, snorted; a small dose of a snorted drug.
      • “They're getting their drugs mixed up,” she said. “If someone did a line of coke, it would be a very different size than if someone did a bump of ketamine, right? So if they're thinking it's cocaine and they do a line, they could go into a k-hole and be completely unable to move for hours. Maybe...2019 August 9, Joshua Azizi, “Shambhala Music Festival makes harm reduction a priority”, in The Georgia Straight
   7. (countable, informal) A conflict.
      • It happens during Libra—in the Jewish culture, once a year, weeks after the New Year, you look behind and are asked to forgive whoever you had a bump with in the last year.2020 September 28, Debra Silverman, “Libra/Aries Full Moon: The Grass Is Not Greener”, in Debra Silverman Astrology
2. A protuberance on a flat surface or a straight line.
   • Be careful of that bump in the road.
   • The boundary between Estonia and Russia has a bump north of that town.
   1. A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury.
      • It had upon its brow / A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
   2. (countable) A bouffant hairstyle; the puffy upper part of such a hairstyle.
      • She looks great with that bump Kelly gave her at the salon.
   3. (countable) The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman.
   4. (countable, obsolete) One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind.
      • the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness
      • Our task is to elevate the character of the people, raising up, in fact, their bump of self-esteem and suppressing the bumps of servility and fury.c.1845 Thomas MacNevin, cited in Charles Gavan Duffy (1896) Young Ireland: A Fragment of Irish History, 1840-45; final revision (London: T.F. Unwin) Vol.II p.100
   5. (dated, metonymically, obsolete) The faculty itself.
   6. (countable, figuratively) A small increase in an amount.
      • His pay got a bump last month.
   7. (countable, figuratively) A small increase in excitement or interest.
      • The addition of the fight scenes gave the story a little bump near the end, but overall, it bored me.
   8. (countable, figuratively) A temporary, usually small, increase in a quantity, such as is shown in a graph.
      • US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings.
   9. (London, figuratively, slang) A ripoff or bad deal; an unjustly high price.
      • I paid a hundred pounds for that, but it was a proper bump, mate.
   10. (colloquial, countable, figuratively) A minor problem or difficulty.
       • "I'll try my best, but we still have a few bumps to work out," Ryder muttered.2015, Dianna Love, Slye Team Black Ops 3-book box set
3. The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.
4. The act of using one's forearm to strike the ball in a volleyball match.
5. (skipping rope) In skipping, a single jump over two consecutive turns of the rope.
6. A sudden movement of underground strata, preceded by a characteristic sound.
7. (Internet, countable) A post in an Internet forum thread made in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
8. In the game of khanhoo, the act of claiming a newly discarded card when it is not one's turn, permitted when one can use the card to form a meld other than a sequence.
9. (US, slang, uncountable) The sound and other sensations of a rhythm, especially in music with a strong, danceable beat, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response.
   • The fetus can hear the bump of the mother's heartbeat.
   • The rhythmic bump in that song made me want to dance.
10. (US, countable, slang) A good song, especially a danceable one.
    • His latest song is such a bump, I can't stop listening to it on repeat.
11. (US, slang, uncountable, preceded by a definite article) A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump their hips together.
    • I saw him doing The Bump with her.
    • We sing […] "God Save the Queen" done in mime and finally "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley" to a Hawaiian rock with Phoebe doing the bump.1979, Robert English, Toxic Kisses, Eden Paperbacks, page 32
12. (countable, industrial relations) A reassignment of jobs within an organization (for example, when an existing employee leaves) on the basis of seniority.
    • For example, chain bumping, in which a bump by one employee initiates a series of consecutive bumps down a progression line before a layoff results, produces the greatest average number of reassignments per redundant employee.1985, Peter B. Doeringer, Michael J. Piore, Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analysis, page 55

Verb (1)

bump (third-person singular simple present bumps, present participle bumping, simple past and past participle bumped)

1. To knock against or run into with a jolt.
   • Their car got bumped while they were turning at the junction.
2. To move up or down by a step; displace.
   • I bumped the font size up to make my document easier to read.
3. (Internet) To post in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
   • As in [the online forum] carersvoicesnz, certain contributors were more visible, taking the initiative to "bump" the thread to bring it back into view if it went quiet.2015, Barbara Horrell, Christine Stephens, Mary Breheny, “Online Research with Informal Caregivers: Opportunities and Challenges”, in Qualitative Research in Psychology, volume 12, number 3, →DOI...
4. (physical) To suddenly boil, causing movement of the vessel and loss of liquid.
   • Heat until the liquid bumps, then reduce the heat and continue the boiling for 1½ hours.1916, Albert Prescott Mathews, Physiological chemistry
5. (transitive) To move (a booked passenger) to a later flight because of earlier delays or cancellations.
   • Easyjet said the compensation package for passengers bumped off flights was 'probably the most flawed piece of European legislation in recent years' […]2005, Lois Jones, EasyJet: the story of Britain's biggest low-cost airline, page 192
6. (transitive) To move the time of (a scheduled event).
   • A colleague emails with news that her 4:30 meeting got bumped to 3:30.2010, Nancy Conner, Matthew MacDonald, Office 2010: The Missing Manual, page 332
7. (transitive) To pick (a lock) with a repeated striking motion that dislodges the pins.
8. (transitive) To increase (a version number).
9. (archaic, intransitive) To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise; to boom.
   • as a bittern bumps within a reed1700, [John] Dryden, “The Wife of Bathe’s Tale. As it was Written by Geffrey Chaucer”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
10. (dated) To spread out material so as to fill any desired number of pages.
11. (slang, transitive) To assassinate; to bump off.
    • You know about the night the kid bumped Brody?1944, William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman, The Big Sleep (screenplay)
12. (transitive, industrial relations) To displace (another employee in an organization) on the basis of seniority.
    • Employees with 2 years or more, and less than 8 years plant seniority, may bump a probationary employee.1969, Major Collective Bargaining Agreements, volume 9

Interjection (1)

1. (Internet) Posted in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.

Noun (2)

bump (countable and uncountable, plural bumps)

1. The breeding call made by the bittern; a boom.

Verb (2)

bump (third-person singular simple present bumps, present participle bumping, simple past and past participle bumped)

1. Of a bittern, to make its characteristic breeding call.

Interjection (2) capitalized: BUMP

1. (Internet, alternative) Alternative form of bump.

Proper noun capitalized: Bump

Bump

1. A surname.