dump

play

verb \ ˈdəmp \

Definition of dump

transitive verb

1 a :to let fall in or as if in a heap or mass

dumped his clothes on the bed

b :to get rid of unceremoniously or irresponsibly

got dumped by his girlfriend

c :jettison

an airplane dumping gasoline

2 slang :to knock down :beat

the man rushed out and dumped him
—John Corry

3 :to sell in quantity at a very low price; specifically :to sell abroad at less than the market price at home

4 :to copy (data in a computer's internal storage) to an external storage or output device

5 a :to hit or throw short and softly

dump a pass to a running back

dump a bunt down the line

b :to hit (a puck) deep into the opponent's zone in ice hockey

intransitive verb

1 :to fall abruptly :plunge

2 :to dump refuse

— dump on

:to treat disrespectfully; especially :belittle, bad-mouth

See dump defined for English-language learners

See dump defined for kids

Examples of dump in a Sentence

You can dump the coats on the bed.
I dumped the coffee down the drain.
The murderer dumped the body in the river.

Recent Examples of dump from the Web

The storm has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain on southern Texas, leaving thousands of residents homeless.

— veronica hilbring, Essence.com, "Tone Deaf: Here's Everything Trump Has Said About Hurricane Harvey," 30 Aug. 2017
With Harvey still expected to dump rain over Texas and Louisiana for several days, the full scope of the damage isn't yet known.

— chicagotribune.com, "Trump pledge of swift Harvey aid to hit reality of slow Congress," 29 Aug. 2017
This is the third time in less than a month that heavy rains have dumped more than 6 inches of rain over many parts of the Kansas City area.

— robert a. cronkleton, joe robertson and tony rizzo, kansascity, "Torrential rains cause historic flooding, strand residents in southern Kansas City," 22 Aug. 2017
The plastic bags for years contaminated the waste, resulting in it often being dumped in the landfill instead of being turned into compost.

— james bruggers, The Courier-Journal, "Forced by the state, Louisville revisits its ban on plastic bags for yard waste," 18 Aug. 2017
Practically every machine operates the same: The mixture is dumped into a metal bowl surrounded by a sub-freezing cold source.

— Popular Mechanics, "How to Make Ice Cream," 4 Aug. 2017
Tennant and McKetta allegedly dumped Reeves’ body in the woods near Nora Creek Road.

— josh babcock, idahostatesman, "Russian roulette to blame for death of Pullman teen, witnesses tell detectives," 27 July 2017
In response, the workers dumped truckloads of dirt into the hole.

— michael lewis, vanityfair.com, "Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House," 26 July 2017
Phil Collins, an artist, brought the concrete Engels—in two parts, cut at the waist—from Ukraine, where it had been toppled and dumped along with other Soviet monuments after Russia’s military aggression in 2015.

— The Economist, "Engels returns to Manchester," 20 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dump.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dump

perhaps from Middle Dutch dompen to immerse, topple; akin to Old Norse dumpa to thump, fall suddenly

dump Synonyms

Synonyms

blow off, break off (with), ditch, jilt, kiss off, leave

Related Words

brush (aside or off), cold-shoulder, cut, high-hat, slight, snub; abandon, desert, forsake, maroon, quit

Near Antonyms

hook up (with), take; befriend, latch (on or onto)

dump

noun

Definition of dump

1 a :an accumulation of refuse and discarded materials

b :a place where such materials are dumped

2 a :a quantity of reserve materials accumulated at one place

b :a place where such materials are stored

ammunition dump

3 :a disorderly, slovenly, or objectionable place

4 :an instance of dumping data stored in a computer

5 often vulgar :an act of defecation —usually used with take

See dump defined for English-language learners

Examples of dump in a Sentence

We bring our trash to the town dump on Saturdays.
all of the used packaging eventually ends up in the dump

Recent Examples of dump from the Web

Just four years later, Howard found himself being traded away in a salary dump.

— tim bontemps, chicagotribune.com, "Not long ago Dwight Howard was a face of the NBA. Now he's a salary dump.," 21 June 2017
New York City is gradually transforming its largest trash dump, Fresh Kills on Staten Island, into a vast expanse of parkland and restored natural areas.

— andres viglucci, miamiherald, "Say bye to Virginia Key’s toxic old landfill, and hi to Miami’s biggest park," 15 June 2017
A colleague got him to shore, and flagged down a dump truck, which took Stewart to a hospital.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Jim Stewart, Scripps waterman who opened the sea to scuba diving scientists, dies at 89," 8 June 2017
The driver of the dump truck, which was registered to Harry Brown Trucking Inc., of Hebron, was not injured in the crash.

— amy lavalley, Post-Tribune, "3 killed in head-on crash with dump truck," 7 June 2017
The chemicals apparently had leached into the water from waste dumps, where the company disposed of the chemicals, ending in the 1970s.

— bob shaw, Twin Cities, "Water-drinking public worried — or not — about 3M pollution in Washington County," 6 June 2017
Three possessions later, Tapan put the public team up, 24-21, on a timely dump.

— andrew j. campa, Burbank Leader, "Public school pulls away late from private boys’ volleyball squad," 4 June 2017
The latter came after Sandburg setter Connor Kelly put the Eagles on top with a dump and a block on consecutive plays.

— logan malloy, Daily Southtown, "Joe Kenzinger dominates at net as Brother Rice advances to state," 30 May 2017
A man paving a private driveway in Whiteford suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a dump truck Tuesday afternoon, according to Harford County fire and EMS officials.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Man struck by dump truck in Whiteford Tuesday, suffers life-threatening injuries," 30 May 2017

dump Synonyms

Synonyms

landfill, sanitary landfill, tip [chiefly British]

Related Words

dustbin, dustheap, junkyard, kitchen midden, midden; transfer station; mess, pigpen, pigsty, sty

DUMP Defined for English Language Learners

dump

play

verb

Definition of dump for English Language Learners

: to put (something) somewhere in a quick and careless way
: to leave or get rid of (something or someone) quickly or without concern
: to end a romantic relationship with (someone)

dump

noun

Definition of dump for English Language Learners

: a place where waste (such as trash) is taken and left
: a place where military supplies are stored
: a messy, dirty, and unpleasant place

DUMP Defined for Kids

dump

play

verb \ ˈdəmp \

Definition of dump for Students

dumped; dumping

1 :to let fall in a heap

He dumped his clothes on the bed.

2 :to get rid of

You can't just dump trash anywhere.

dump

noun

Definition of dump for Students

1 :a place for getting rid of trash

2 :a place for storage of military materials or the materials stored

an ammunition dump

3 :a messy or shabby place We lived in a dump back then.

Law Dictionary

dump

transitive verb

legal Definition of dump

:to sell in quantity at a very low price; specifically :to sell abroad at less than the market price at home

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dump

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Definition of dump for English Language Learners

dump

Definition of dump for English Language Learners

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dump

Definition of dump for Students

dump

Definition of dump for Students

Law Dictionary

dump

legal Definition of dump

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