bump

[[t]bʌ̱mp[/t]]

bumps, bumping, bumped

1) VERB If you bump into something or someone, you accidentally hit them while you are moving.

[V into/against n] They stopped walking and he almost bumped into them...

[V into/against n] There was a jerk as the boat bumped against something...

[V n] He bumped his head on the low beams of the house.

N-COUNT

Bump is also a noun.

Small children often cry after a minor bump.

2) N-COUNT A bump is the action or the dull sound of two heavy objects hitting each other.

I felt a little bump and I knew instantly what had happened...

The child took five steps, and then sat down with a bump.

3) N-COUNT A bump is a minor injury or swelling that you get if you bump into something or if something hits you.

She fell against our coffee table and got a large bump on her forehead.

Syn:

lump

4) N-COUNT If you have a bump while you are driving a car, you have a minor accident in which you hit something. [INFORMAL]

Syn:

collision

5) N-COUNT A bump on a road is a raised, uneven part.

The truck hit a bump and bounced.

6) VERB If a vehicle bumps over a surface, it travels in a rough, bouncing way because the surface is very uneven.

[V prep/adv] We left the road, and again bumped over the mountainside...

[V prep/adv] The aircraft bumped along erratically without gathering anything like sufficient speed. [Also V way adv/prep]

7) → See also goose bumps

8) PHRASE: PHR after v (emphasis) If someone comes down to earth with a bump, they suddenly start recognizing unpleasant facts after a period of time when they have not been doing this.

to bump along the bottom → see bottom

Company bosses have come back down to earth with a bump after a period of post-election euphoria.

Phrasal Verbs:

- bump into

- bump off

- bump up