— bumpingly , adv.
/bump/ , v.t.
1. to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike: His car bumped a truck.
2. to cause to strike or collide: He bumped the car against a tree.
3. to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
4. Informal. to dislodge; to appropriate the privileges of: When the general found there were no additional seats on the plane, he bumped a major. The airline bumped me from the flight.
5. to demote, promote, or dismiss: He was bumped from his job.
6. Informal. to force upward; raise: Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.
7. Poker. raise (def. 24).
v.i.
8. to come in contact or collide with (often fol. by against or into ): She bumped into me.
9. to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts: The old car bumped down the road.
10. to dance by thrusting the pelvis forward abruptly, in a provocative manner, esp. to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat. Cf. grind (def. 13).
11. to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.
12. bump into , Informal. to meet by chance: I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
13. bump off , Slang. to kill, esp. to murder: They bumped him off because he knew too much.
n.
14. an act or instance of bumping; collision; blow.
15. the shock of a blow or collision.
16. a swelling or contusion from a blow.
17. a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance: He tripped over a bump on a road.
18. Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level: He got a bump to vice president of the company.
19. Informal. an increase in amount, esp. of salary or a wager: He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.
20. Aeron. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
21. a dance movement in which the pelvis is abruptly thrust forward in a provocative manner, esp. to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat. Cf. grind (def. 20).
22. Mining. crump (def. 6).
[ 1560-70; imit. ]