1
2
as in interrogates
to put a series of questions to
prying neighbors pumped the guileless child for information about the family's new pool
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in drains
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely
pumped water from the well
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pumps
The life-support device − which pumps blood through an artificial lung, providing it with oxygen and returning it to the body − is hoped to relieve enough pressure on the lungs and heart to give them some time to recover, the reports add.
—
Melina Khan, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Queen Camilla returned to her bespoke Eliot Zed pumps in soft black suede with a black leather toe cap, after wearing the same pair just days earlier at the Badminton Horse Trials.
—Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 11 May 2026
Hypermart pumps, and off-brand gas stations, offered the same gasoline at far cheaper prices, as much as 80 cents in recent weeks, according to the agency.
—Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026
Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff pumps his fist after the Sabres' 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of their first-round series at TD Garden in Boston on Friday.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 6 May 2026
This beat pumps the heart of the current cultural moment.
—Fay Bound-Alberti, Time, 3 May 2026
Interestingly, the system has a spinning nozzle that extrudes and pumps two different materials through this rotating head.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 May 2026
Though initially dismissed and even ridiculed, Mitchell went on to win the 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his idea that a current of protons constantly flows into the cell as the cell vigorously pumps them back out, and that this is the driving force behind key cellular processes.
—Quanta Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
During rainy winter months, when a holding area called Quarry Lake at the site fills up, the company pumps the water into a holding tank and then into the river.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Melina Khan, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Queen Camilla returned to her bespoke Eliot Zed pumps in soft black suede with a black leather toe cap, after wearing the same pair just days earlier at the Badminton Horse Trials.
—Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 11 May 2026
Hypermart pumps, and off-brand gas stations, offered the same gasoline at far cheaper prices, as much as 80 cents in recent weeks, according to the agency.
—Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026
Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff pumps his fist after the Sabres' 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of their first-round series at TD Garden in Boston on Friday.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 6 May 2026
This beat pumps the heart of the current cultural moment.
—Fay Bound-Alberti, Time, 3 May 2026
Interestingly, the system has a spinning nozzle that extrudes and pumps two different materials through this rotating head.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 May 2026
Though initially dismissed and even ridiculed, Mitchell went on to win the 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his idea that a current of protons constantly flows into the cell as the cell vigorously pumps them back out, and that this is the driving force behind key cellular processes.
—Quanta Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
During rainy winter months, when a holding area called Quarry Lake at the site fills up, the company pumps the water into a holding tank and then into the river.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pumps
Verb
-
Her head bobs gently, then sharply tilts at specific moments, particularly when certain words cut through the stream of conversation.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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Just after lunchtime on a Saturday in November, a sea of purple braids bobs in unison, barely clearing the tops of the movie-theater seats behind them.—
Eliza Berman,
Time,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Employing a cast of non-professional locals, the film playfully interrogates the brutal but bungled occupation while also allowing its actors — many of whom are descendants of the fascists’ victims — to reinterpret and reclaim a chapter in their city’s past.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
15 May 2026
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Also of note, when Vader interrogates Leia on the Death Star, this would be a perfect time to use the force.—
Mike Ryan,
IndieWire,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Leaking faucets, pipes, and air conditioning units should be repaired, and the ground next to the foundation should be sloped so that surface water drains away from the building.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
14 May 2026
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Most varieties prefer full sun to partial shade and rich, slightly acidic soil that drains well.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Her daytime meals are pretty consistent and include yogurts, protein bars, protein shakes and protein pasta.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
-
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) shakes hands with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, China, May 6, 2026.—
May 6,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Verb
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In a 2025 study published in Personal Relationships that examines dishonesty in romantic relationships, researchers found that people most commonly described their lies as protective in nature.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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Tackling a subject close to home for writer-director Marie Kreutzer, Gentle Monster examines the fallout when Philip Weiss (Laurence Rupp) — a middle-class Austrian documentary maker, father and beloved husband — is accused of watching, distributing and maybe even making child pornography.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Constantly landing on jokes — like in its portrayal of Lockjaw and his efforts to become a member of the Christmas Adventurers Club, a powerful white-supremacists faction — siphons a sense of urgency from the film’s sketches of American unrest and white male violence.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
24 Nov. 2025
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The filing comes days after Spotify was accused in another class action lawsuit of permitting massive amounts of streaming fraud on its platform, which siphons royalties from artists whose numbers aren’t artificially inflated.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In a viral video of the aftermath, the robot jerks back and forth to shake the glass off, showering yet more dangerous shards onto the sidewalk.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
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Ross’s video does not show if the SUV made contact with him, as the camera angle jerks up to the sky.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Rawlence also questions whether what Colossal is doing is really reviving extinct species.—
Rob Stein,
NPR,
19 May 2026
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Beneath today’s economic pressures remains a lingering question many workers continue asking themselves that questions what a sustainable life actually looks like in an increasingly unstable economy.—
Maia Niguel Hoskin,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pumps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pumps. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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