as in banging
to come into usually forceful contact with something
that police officer bumped into me and should have apologized
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Recent Examples of bumping
This project is focused on bumping the agency’s operations to include 30 ten-car trains per hour, or more than 300 additional railcars total, alongside other improvements such as a new control system, a new railcar storage yard in Hayward and adding more power substations to improve service.
—
Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
But Highway 61 remains a destination for travelers bumping the long way around the Americana Music Triangle between New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville.
—Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Jascoco The cows stampeded into a neighborhood, knocking over mailboxes, trampling fences, and bumping into cars as they were being chased.
—Julie Sharp, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Video footage of the race showed the animals hopping into the road, seemingly out of nowhere, and bumping into several cyclists.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
Tomorrow, the museum goes one step further by bumping him from top billing to solo performer.
—J. S. Marcus, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Macy’s employees have no bumping rights.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 22 Jan. 2026
But while a four-string electric bass can descend to 41 Hz, chances are that most speakers are only bumping and rattling in an attempt to generate such low frequencies, much less accurately replicating the timbre and voice of the instrument itself.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2026
In this tale, Harry and Ron first cross paths after bumping into each other in the halls of Hogwarts.
—Staff Author, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Jan. 2026
Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
But Highway 61 remains a destination for travelers bumping the long way around the Americana Music Triangle between New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville.
—Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Jascoco The cows stampeded into a neighborhood, knocking over mailboxes, trampling fences, and bumping into cars as they were being chased.
—Julie Sharp, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Video footage of the race showed the animals hopping into the road, seemingly out of nowhere, and bumping into several cyclists.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
Tomorrow, the museum goes one step further by bumping him from top billing to solo performer.
—J. S. Marcus, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Macy’s employees have no bumping rights.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 22 Jan. 2026
But while a four-string electric bass can descend to 41 Hz, chances are that most speakers are only bumping and rattling in an attempt to generate such low frequencies, much less accurately replicating the timbre and voice of the instrument itself.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2026
In this tale, Harry and Ron first cross paths after bumping into each other in the halls of Hogwarts.
—Staff Author, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumping
Verb
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My ten-year-old granddaughter was marching and banging her little saucepan with a salad spoon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Online posts questioning the city’s account continued into the week, and protesters have kept returning to the Hyatt, banging pots and chanting in subfreezing temperatures.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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See video … LISTEN Tune in to hear how top border and immigration officials’ testimony on Capitol Hill is colliding with a looming DHS funding deadline.—
,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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But the sports car kept going, colliding with two vehicles.—
Jacob Beltran,
San Antonio Express-News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The xAI-SpaceX merger is still fresh, AI fears have been slamming software stocks, and Moltbook—a social network for personal AI agents—blew up the Internet.—
Allie Garfinkle,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Heathcliff acts like a whiny little baby throughout this film, constantly throwing tantrums, running away, and slamming doors.—
Cazzie David,
Vogue,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In August 2024, students stormed her official residence, smashing walls and looting its contents, forcing her to flee into neighboring India and exile.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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Football in particular was hard to understand, with plays that last only seconds and the jarring violence of giant men smashing into each other.—
Erendira Rendon,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bad Bunny pretaped the segment inside the casita, faux-falling through the roof and quite literally crashing a family gathering before exiting to the remainder of the performance.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
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The Bulls failed in their attempt to construct a team around veterans through free agency and trades, briefly showing flashes of promise in the 2021-22 season before crashing back to earth.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Buzelis was still suspended midair when Collin Sexton backpedaled underneath the forward, knocking his legs backward to send the younger player crashing to the floor, stomach-first.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
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That's when Palmer punched Simpson in the mouth, knocking him to the floor, court records say.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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From swastikas at a playground in Borough Park to a car ramming at Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, the Jewish community in NYC is very much on edge.—
Jesse Zanger,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
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Martinez’s case has been one of the most high-profile examples of civilians being accused by federal authorities of ramming into a vehicle driven by immigration agents.—
Suzanne Gamboa,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, bitcoin has dropped 50% since hitting a record high above $126,000 in October.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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The car collided with the bicyclist before continuing another block and hitting the bakery section of a 99 Ranch Market location in the Westwood neighborhood.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumping. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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