bump

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To hit something accidentally, usually with a knock

   My car bumped into the tree in the dark.

2. 2
   noun

   A sudden knock or jolt from hitting something

   The bump threw me off my bicycle.

3. 3
   noun

   A small raised swelling on the skin or a surface

   She had a painful bump on her forehead.

4. 4
   verb

   To meet someone by chance

   I bumped into an old friend at the store.

Common collocations

• goose bump Noun + noun
• bump off Verb + adverb

From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision”), probably of North Germanic origin; compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”), all probably of imitative origin. Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”). More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images