bump

Meanings

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.
• One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Also the faculty itself
• 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.
• A dose of a drug such as ketamine or cocaine, when snorted recreationally.
• The noise made by the bittern; a boom.
• 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 pocket.
• Music, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response.
• A reassignment of jobs within an organization (for example, when an existing employee leaves) on the basis of seniority.

Verb

• To knock against or run into with a jolt.
• To move up or down by a step; displace.
• 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.
• 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.
• To assassinate; to bump off.
• To displace (another employee in an organization) on the basis of seniority.

Origin

• From Early Modern English bump, probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Danish bump, Danish bumpe, Old Danish bumpe. Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen, Dutch bommen, German bummen, Icelandic bumba, probably of imitative origin. More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.