Word: bump Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision”), probably of North Germanic origin; compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”), all probably of imitative origin. Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”). More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb. Pronunciation: /bʌmp/, [bʌm̥p], [bɐm̥p], /bʊmp/ 1. A light blow or jolting collision. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: His car had a tiny bump with a moving bus. 2. The sound of such a collision. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He heard a loud bump and saw the front part of his car was broken and the driver of the other car was running to apologise. 3. A protuberance on a level surface. Labels: countable, uncountable 4. A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: It had upon its brow / A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone. 5. One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness Example: Our task is to elevate the character of the people, raising up, in fact, their bump of self-esteem and suppressing the bumps of servility and fury. 6. One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Labels: countable, dated, metonymically, obsolete, uncountable 7. The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead. Labels: countable, uncountable 8. The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman. Labels: countable, uncountable 9. 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. Labels: Internet, countable, uncountable 10. A temporary increase in a quantity, as shown in a graph. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings. 11. A dose of a drug such as ketamine or cocaine, when snorted recreationally. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: “They're getting their drugs mixed up,” she said. “If someone did a line of coke, it would be a very different size than if someone did a bump of ketamine, right? So if they're thinking it's cocaine and they do a line, they could go into a k-hole and be completely unable to move for hours. Maybe not hours, but for a while.” 12. A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump their hips together. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: We sing […] "God Save the Queen" done in mime and finally "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley" to a Hawaiian rock with Phoebe doing the bump. 13. In skipping, a single jump over two consecutive turns of the rope. Labels: countable, uncountable 14. A coarse cotton fabric. Labels: uncountable 15. A training match for a fighting dog. Labels: countable, uncountable 16. The jaw of either of the middle pockets. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable 17. Music, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response. Labels: US, slang, uncountable Example: Call me the juice and you know I'm a stunt; ride in the car with some bump in the trunk. 18. A short, self-promotional spot on a radio or television station. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 19. A reassignment of jobs within an organization (for example, when an existing employee leaves) on the basis of seniority. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: For example, chain bumping, in which a bump by one employee initiates a series of consecutive bumps down a progression line before a layoff results, produces the greatest average number of reassignments per redundant employee. 20. In the game of khanhoo, the act of claiming a newly discarded card when it is not one's turn, permitted when one can use the card to form a meld other than a sequence. Labels: countable, uncountable 21. A minor problem or difficulty. Labels: colloquial, countable, uncountable Example: "I'll try my best, but we still have a few bumps to work out," Ryder muttered. 22. A sudden movement of underground strata, preceded by a characteristic sound. Labels: countable, uncountable 23. An undercover contact or staged encounter used to elicit information, prompt a reaction, or arrange a follow-up meeting with a suspect or person of interest. Labels: US, countable, uncountable