Bump Definition
bŭmp
bumped, bumping, bumps
verb
bumped, bumping, bumps
To strike or collide with.
Bumped the chair with a knee.
American Heritage
To cause to knock against an obstacle.
Bumped a knee against the chair.
American Heritage
To displace, as from a job or plane reservation.
Webster's New World
To collide with a jolt.
Webster's New World
To knock to a new position; shift.
Bumped the crate out of the way.
American Heritage
noun
bumps
A light blow or jolt.
Webster's New World
The sound of something bumping.
Heard a loud bump in the dark.
American Heritage
A raised or rounded spot; a bulge.
American Heritage
A swelling or lump, esp. one caused by a blow.
Webster's New World
In phrenology, any of the protuberances of the skull as interpreted with reference to one's mental faculties.
Webster's New World
pronoun
A surname.
Wiktionary
idiom
bump into
- to meet unexpectedly
Webster's New World
bump off
- to murder
Webster's New World
Origin of Bump
-
From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision", also "to make a heavy, hollow sound, boom”), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”). Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”), probably of imitative origin. More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.
From Wiktionary
Imitative
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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