bumpy

adjective

ˈbəm-pē 

bumpier; bumpiest

1

: having or covered with bumps

2

a

: marked by bumps or jolts

b

: marked by or full of difficulties

bumpily

ˈbəm-pə-lē 

adverb

bumpiness

ˈbəm-pē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of bumpy

• rough
• uneven

Examples of bumpy in a Sentence

The road is very bumpy.

the bumpy skin of a cucumber

The flight was very bumpy.

The road was rough so we had a bumpy ride.

Recent Examples on the Web

Zach Brown's college football career has been bumpy at times. — Ren Clayton, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

Borges sees a bumpy period of adjustment in the short term as the industry sorts out processes to ensure that human creatives still oversee the work of AI’s crafty agents. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Jason Henry | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anthropic's road to an IPO just got a lot bumpier. — Ashley Capoot,kate Rooney, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026

What’s interesting is that, despite all that life prep, Manning’s transition to starter was bumpy. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bumpy

• dumpy
• grumpy
• jumpy
• lumpy
• stumpy

Kids Definition

bumpy

adjective

ˈbəm-pē 

bumpier; bumpiest

: marked by bumps or bumping

a bumpy ride

bumpy skin

bumpily

-pə-lē 

adverb

bumpiness

-pē-nəs 

noun