I. ˈbəmp verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: imitative
transitive verb
1.
a. : to strike or knock typically with a degree of force or violence and making a thudding impact and usually with a degree of injury or damage
he bumped his head on the low ceiling
b. chiefly Britain : smash
c. chiefly Britain : nip
2. : to meet with or come up against forcibly (as an obstruction, buffer, or guard rail)
the front fender was crushed as it bumped the stone wall
3.
a. : to displace, dislodge, or move from a position by bumping : knock out of place
the passenger was bumped out of his seat by the impact
b. : to oust (another) from a job or position and fill it oneself usually by virtue of seniority rights
he was bumped from his job as a switchman by an older railroader
c. : to deprive (another) of travel accommodations especially on an airplane by virtue of higher priority or rank or greater need
he was bumped at the airport to make room for a top-ranking army officer
d. : to demote in rank usually suddenly : bust
he was bumped from colonel to major
e. : to oust or dismiss from membership
a move to bump the senator from the committee
4.
a. : to approach or attain to in a manner suggesting irregular jolting and forceful progress
prices began bumping officially approved limits
b. : to increase or raise with suddenness or force — usually used with up
demand has bumped up prices
5.
a. : to apply pressure to (sheet or plate metal) so as to make or remove a concavity or convexity
b. : to raise a low area of (a printing plate) especially by hammering on the back or by interlaying — often used with up
intransitive verb
1. : to strike or knock against something with a forceful thud or jolt — often used with into or against
the car bumped into the light pole
2. : to travel or proceed in or as if in a series of bumps — often followed by an adverb or a preposition
bumped over the dirt road
the jeep turned and bumped back onto the highway — Donald Stokes
3. : to encounter usually forcibly or somewhat unpleasantly something that is an obstacle, hindrance, or threat — usually used with into or against
expected to bump against serious opposition — Ned Russell
4. : to boil suddenly and sometimes with explosive violence (as of water covered with a layer of oil and rapidly heated)
5. of a bowled cricket ball : to rise to an unusual height after pitching
6. : to thrust the hips forward with a quick, convulsive, or suggestive motion in or as if in a burlesque striptease
the strippers still bump and grind in the clubs, although with modifications — Time
Synonyms:
clash , collide , conflict : bump indicates forceful knocking or running against, typically with thudding impact
the ferry bumped into the mooring post
he bumped his foot on the stove
It may suggest encountering an obstacle or difficulty
the builder bumped up against the problem of shoring up the wall
clash may suggest hitting, knocking, or dashing together or against with sharp force and jangling metallic din
the swords clashed
where ignorant armies clash by night — Matthew Arnold
or sharp, although sometimes short-lived, variance, incompatibility, or opposition
Cavour and Victor Emmanuel clashed sharply, and on these occasions it was usually the King who won — Times Literary Supplement
when the new demands of our changing economic life clash with the old dogmas — M.R.Cohen
collide suggests a more or less direct running together or against with a certain force or shock
the tanker sank after it collided with the freighter
It also indicates a forceful direct disagreement or opposition
an English East India Company was using the Portuguese route around Africa and colliding with the Portuguese in India — Stringfellow Barr
conflict , archaic in senses involving physical contact, indicates variance, incompatibility, or opposition
conflicting testimony by two witnesses
to stand up amid conflicting interests — William Wordsworth
•
- bump into
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a somewhat forceful, sudden, thudding, or jolting blow or impact : the action, the effect, or the noise of such a blow
the freight cars came together with a bump
the bump of a chestnut falling — Sylvia Stallings
a bump that still hurts
as
(1) : a jolt experienced in an airplane in flight that is caused by local ascending or descending air currents
(2) : a sudden shock or rock concussion sometimes accompanying rock subsidence in and around mines
b. : displacement to a lower position : demotion
a bump to the bottom of his class
2. : a relatively abrupt convexity or protuberance on a surface: as
a. : a swelling of tissue usually resulting from a bump
a week later she still had a bad bump on her forehead
b. : a protuberance on the body: as
(1) : breast
a young girl beginning to mature and show bumps
(2) : a cranial protuberance associated in phrenology with one of various faculties or personal qualities
c.
(1) : a sudden rise in a road surface likely to jolt a passing vehicle
(2) : any marked unevenness in a road surface likely to cause such a jolt
an old pavement now full of bumps and holes
d. : a hill or other bulky rounded protuberance typically somewhat isolated geographically
the lone bump of hill that stands on the Jersey flats — Horace Sutton
3.
a. : an obstruction giving sudden check or pause
help people over the bumps of defeat — L.C.May
also : the abrupt perception of an obstruction or difficulty
Mrs. Miniver remembered with a bump , felt dismayed — Jan Struther
b. : obstacle , difficulty
the bumps he encountered on his way to success
4. : natural endowment : faculty , quality
has need of a big bump of irreverence — John Raymond
possessing a bump of skepticism and a bent toward rationality — C.J.Rolo
children with big bumps of curiosity
5. : an action of thrusting the hips forward with abrupt suggestive motion typically in a burlesque striptease act — compare grind
Synonyms: see impact