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Added 9 October 2026

bump

/bʌmp/ noun

In Latin: tūber Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bump at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A lump on the body caused by a blow.
Something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings.
the gun in his pocket made an obvious bulge
An impact (as from a collision).
the bump threw him off the bicycle

verb

Knock against with force or violence.
My car bumped into the tree
Come upon, as if by accident; meet with.
We find this idea in Plato
Dance erotically or dance with the pelvis thrust forward.
bump and grind

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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