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pump

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A device for moving or compressing a liquid or gas.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

puhmp
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpʌmp

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A device for moving or compressing a liquid or gas.

  2. A device for dispensing liquid or gas to be sold, particularly fuel; a gas pump.

  3. A mechanical device that moves fluid or gas by pressure or suction

  4. chiefly canadaus

    A type of women's shoe which leaves the instep uncovered and has a relatively high heel, especially a stiletto (with a very high and thin heel)

  5. An instance of the action of a pump; one stroke of a pump; any action similar to pumping

  6. british

    A low-top shoe with a rubber sole and a canvas upper; a low-top canvas sneaker.

verb

  1. Operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal

  2. transitiveintransitive

    To use a pump; to move (water or other liquid) by means of a pump.

  3. transitiveintransitive

    To express milk from (a breast) by means of a breast pump.

  4. transitive

    To gain something, especially information, from (a person) by persistent questioning.

    “She pumped the witnesses for information.”

  5. To load a shell into the chamber of a pump-action shotgun by pumping the mechanism.

  6. usintransitiveslang

    Of music: to be loud, to have strong bass and rhythms; (by extension) to be full of energy.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A device for moving or compressing a liquid or gas.

Used this way, pump 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.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Device

water pumpfuel pumpoil pump

Other combinations

heat pumpair pumpvacuum pumpcentrifugal pumphand pump

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • pump primingnounCompound term

    Spending money raised by borrowing.

  • pump roomnounCompound term

    A pump house at a spa where medicinal waters are pumped and where patrons gather.

  • pump-type pliersnounCompound term

    A type of pliers.

  • pump wellnounCompound term

    An enclosure in the middle of a ship's hold that protects the ship's pumps.

  • pump-and-dump schemenounCompound term

    An illegal scheme for making money by manipulating stock prices.

  • pumping stationnounCompound term

    A house where pumps (e.g. to irrigate) are installed and operated.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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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.