bump
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A light blow or jolting collision.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
buhmpIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbʌmp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
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.
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.
verb
Knock against with force or violence
“My car bumped into the tree.”
To knock against or run into with a jolt.
To move up or down by a step; displace.
transitive
To move (a booked passenger) to a later flight because of earlier delays or cancellations.
transitive
To move the time of (a scheduled event).
intransitive
To move while bumping up and down, as a cart or car does on rough ground.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The sound of such a collision.
Used this way, bump is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use bump
- “My car bumped into the tree.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A glass filled to the brim (especially as a toast).
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Increase or raise.
Collide violently with an obstacle.
A small low-powered electrically powered vehicle driven on a special platform where there are many others to be dodged.
Vertical bars attached to a bumper to prevent locking bumpers with another vehicle.
A jack for lifting a motor vehicle by the bumper.
Kill intentionally and with premeditation.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: light blow or jolting collision
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.