prime the pump
prime the pump verb: to engage in deficit spending.
Verb
prime the pump (third-person singular simple present primes the pump, present participle priming the pump, simple past and past participle primed the pump)
- To engage in deficit spending.
- […] by supplying, through the Federal Treasury, a sufficient flow of finance and currency that will prime the pump and keep it going until it can start its flow from the well or fountain of national resources.1935, Congressional Record, page 4087
- To give something in order to create the conditions where others will give in return.
- For example, if you give money to a charity, as a tax reduction or to prime the pump for more money to flow to you, than the actual intent is not making someone else happy, but yourself.2001, Asa E. Lennon, The Forgotten Self: A Book of Reminders, →ISBN, page 112
- Kate primed the pump by telling the story of Dina teaching her to rappel.2002, Dana Stabenow, A Fine and Bitter Snow, →ISBN, page 180
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see prime, the, pump.
prime the pump meaning in Bengali
prime the pump in Bengali
- ঘাটতি ব্যয় করা
Examples of prime the pump in a sentence
- A good way to prime the pump of generosity is by starting with the intangibles such as a smile, or a simple courtesy such as opening a door for someone or extending some other random act of kindness.2011, Dennis Merritt Jones, The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It, →ISBN:
- If you're starving for some admiring comments, you might have to prime the pump.2012 -, Poppy Smith, Why Can't He Think More Like Me?, →ISBN:
Forms of prime the pump
| third-person singular present | primes the pump |
|---|---|
| present participle | priming the pump |
| past participle | primed the pump |
| past | primed the pump |
Origin of prime the pump
As an idiomatic term, from the 1930s. From the metaphor of filling (priming) a liquid pump in order to prepare it for operation.
Questions about prime the pump
- What does prime the pump mean?
- Prime the pump means to engage in deficit spending.
- What is prime the pump in Bengali?
- Prime the pump in Bengali is ঘাটতি ব্যয় করা. See Prime the pump meaning in Bengali.
- How do you use prime the pump in a sentence?
- A good way to prime the pump of generosity is by starting with the intangibles such as a smile, or a simple courtesy such as opening a door for someone or extending some other random act of kindness.
- What part of speech is prime the pump?
- Prime the pump is a verb.
- What is the past tense of prime the pump?
- The past tense of prime the pump is primed the pump.
Words near prime the pump in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: prime the pump (page history and authors); prime the pump (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-prime the pump.ogg.
Cite this entry: “prime the pump.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prime_the_pump. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.