n. & v.
--n.
1. a a place for depositing rubbish. b a heap of rubbish.
2 colloq. an unpleasant or dreary place.
3 Mil. a temporary store of ammunition, provisions, etc.
4 an accumulated pile of ore, earth, etc.
5 Computing a a printout of stored data. b the process or result of dumping data.
--v.tr.
1. put down firmly or clumsily (dumped the shopping on the table).
2 shoot or deposit (rubbish etc.).
3 colloq. abandon, desert.
4 Mil. leave (ammunition etc.) in a dump.
5 Econ. send (goods unsaleable at a high price in the home market) to a foreign market for sale at a low price, to keep up the price at home, and to capture a new market.
6 Computing a copy (stored data) to a different location. b reproduce the contents of (a store) externally.
Phrases and idioms:
dump on esp. US criticize or abuse; get the better of. dump truck a truck with a body that tilts or opens at the back for unloading.
Etymology: ME perh. f. Norse; cf. Da. dumpe, Norw. dumpa fall suddenly