1
as in swelling
a small rounded mass of swollen tissue
that's a nasty bump on your arm where you hit the table
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
3
as in collision
a forceful coming together of two things
I felt the bump of the other car, but there was no damage to either vehicle
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to bang
to come into usually forceful contact with something
that police officer bumped into me and should have apologized
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bump
Marah Eakin, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
That initial bump is expected to even out over time.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2026
Jake Kanter, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
When Withers landed the head job at James Madison in 2014, the school wanted to set a plan in motion to bump the program up to Division I.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bump
Noun
What is the practical implication of that 3,000 percent bump, and what has that meant to you guys?
—Marah Eakin, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
That initial bump is expected to even out over time.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2026
Verb
In September 2017, Taymor and Epstein bumped into each other on the sidewalk in New York, which resulted in Epstein inviting her to dinner.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
When Withers landed the head job at James Madison in 2014, the school wanted to set a plan in motion to bump the program up to Division I.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bump
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bump
Noun
-
Nor do rising physician fees explain the swelling expenses.—
Chris Pope,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
-
In December, 2022, for instance, a public-health nurse who visited the home for a different welfare check was surprised to find a five-month-old child with hydrocephalus, a swelling of the head, who required immediate emergency-room attention.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
How equestrian team learned of demotion Around the time that UC Davis held the meeting with members of the equestrian team, the school posted a statement.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The exact terms of Engstrand’s departure are unclear, but being stripped of play-calling marked a clear demotion.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The logic behind this is that supermassive black hole binaries, which spiral together to lead to collisions and mergers, emit gravitational waves of increasing frequency as their orbits shrink, creating a background hum of gravitational waves.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Working out the math for the collision of, say, two five-solar-mass black holes, the amount of energy blasted out in less than a second by such a merger would be roughly the same as the sun will emit in seven trillion years.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And Peters has been banging his head on his desk trying to get Congress to use it.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Anthropic’s lunchroom, downstairs, was where Claude banged its head against walls in real life.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The cash option is a one-time, lump-sum payment that is equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.—
Tanya Wildt,
Freep.com,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Caglianone took his lumps — most noticeably charted by his chase rate outside the strike zone — in short order.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Falcons finished 8-9, leading to the firings of coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
And Denver now marches head-on into the offseason, coming off a year of inconsistent offense that resulted in the firing of previous offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Pitchers and catchers report This week, Albernaz gets a glimpse of his pitching staff and catchers, before the thump of an offensive lineup joins the workouts.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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For what felt like an eternity — but was really 20 minutes — the whole place was enveloped in an eerie silence, the only sound being the steady thump of techno-pop playing through the loudspeakers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Even now, more than 40 years later, the lasting image of her career is of Decker laying on the track in anguish and tears after colliding with Zola Budd in the 1984 Olympic 3,000-meter run.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
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The winger for the Los Angeles Kings left the game with less than three minutes on the clock after Canadian forward Tom Wilson collided with him near the boards.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bump.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bump. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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