I. ˈsəmp noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sompe, from Middle Dutch somp morass, pool — more at swamp
1. chiefly dialect
a. : swamp , morass
sumps of bottomless mud, bordered by patches of coarse swamp grass and standing puddles — H.L.Davis
b. : a pool or puddle especially of dirty water
c. : dirt , mud
2. : a round clay-lined pit of stone used in metallurgy for collecting fused metal
3. : a pit, depression, reservoir, or tank serving as a drain or a receptacle for liquids to be salvaged or further disposed of: as
a. : cesspool
b. : an open drain for carrying off dripping liquids (as in factories)
c. : a depression made in a water channel to facilitate the emptying of the channel
d. also sump pit : a pit at the lowest point in a circulating or drainage system (as the oil-circulating system of an internal-combustion engine)
e. chiefly Britain : oil pan
4. Britain : crankcase
5.
[German sumpf, literally, marsh, from Middle High German — more at swamp ]
a. : the portion of a mine shaft which extends below the working levels and into which the water drains
b. : an excavation smaller than and ahead of the regular work in driving a mine tunnel or sinking a mine shaft
c. : sumping cut
6. or sump drain : a device by means of which deep body cavities (as the pelvis) are drained of accumulated fluids by suction
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to make a sump in ; specifically : to depress (the bottom of a channel)
intransitive verb
: to dig or form a sump ; specifically : to make a sumping cut
III. noun
: sink 2a