over the hump

idiom

informal

: past the most difficult part of something (such as a project or job)

A few more months of hard work should be enough to get/put us over the hump on this project.

Examples of over the hump in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Or maybe Gottlieb genuinely believes that Smith’s return will get the Trojans over the hump and back to contending in the Big Ten. —Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026

Sandburg coach John Daniels felt his team needed to get over the hump in a close game. —Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026

Yes, Dan Lanning has had the Ducks on the precipice of greatness for a while now and hasn’t gotten over the hump. —Sports Columnist, Austin American Statesman, 8 Jan. 2026

That’s the assignment, the reason Chancellor Rich Lyons hired Cal football legend Ron Rivera as general manager, the reason Rivera opted to move on from Wilcox, a good coach who just couldn’t get the Bears over the hump. —Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 25 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for over the hump

• bump
• chump
• clump
• crump
• dump
• gump
• jump
• lump
• plump
• pump
• rump
• slump