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bump

/bĘŚmp/

noun

Meaning

  • A light blow or jolting collision.

  • The sound of such a collision.

  • A protuberance on a level surface.

  • A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury.

  • One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Also (metonymically) the faculty itself

    "the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness"

  • The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.

  • The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman.

  • A post in an Internet forum thread made in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.

  • A temporary increase in a quantity, as shown in a graph.

    "US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings."

  • A dose of a drug such as ketamine or cocaine, when snorted recreationally.

  • The noise made by the bittern; a boom.

  • (preceded by definite article) A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump each other's hips together.

  • In skipping, a single jump over two consecutive turns of the rope.

  • A coarse cotton fabric.

  • A training match for a fighting dog.

  • The jaw of either of the middle pockets.

  • Music, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response.

verb

Meaning

  • To knock against or run into with a jolt.

  • To move up or down by a step; displace.

    "I bumped the font size up to make my document easier to read."

  • To post in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.

  • (of a superheated liquid) To suddenly boil, causing movement of the vessel and loss of liquid.

  • To move (a booked passenger) to a later flight because of earlier delays or cancellations.

  • To move the time of (a scheduled event).

  • To pick (a lock) with a repeated striking motion that dislodges the pins.

  • To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise; to boom.

  • To spread out material so as to fill any desired number of pages.