vamp

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈvamp 

: a woman who uses her charm or wiles to seduce and exploit men

vampish

ˈvam-pish 

adjective

vamp

2 of 4

verb (1)

vamped; vamping; vamps

transitive verb

: to practice seductive wiles on

intransitive verb

: to act like a vamp

vamping for the camera

vamp

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

: the part of a shoe upper or boot upper covering especially the forepart of the foot and sometimes also extending forward over the toe or backward to the back seam of the upper

2

[derivative of vamp entry 4] : a short introductory musical passage often repeated several times (as in vaudeville) before a solo or between verses

vamp

4 of 4

verb (2)

vamped; vamping; vamps

transitive verb

1

a

: to provide (a shoe) with a new vamp

b

: to piece (something old) with a new part : patch

vamp up old sermons

2

: invent, fabricate

vamp up an excuse

intransitive verb

1

: to play a musical vamp

2

: improvise, extemporize

vamper noun

Synonyms

Verb (2)

• devise
• think (up)
• construct
• cook (up)
• concoct
• invent
• come up with
• drum up

Examples of vamp in a Sentence

Verb (2)

political spin doctors who can vamp up a justification for just about anything

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Tonight the castle was lit up like a movie set with klieg lights and scores of Cinecittà extras vamping as cardinals. —Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 15 July 2025

Val Kilmer cuts an excellent cowl, Nicole Kidman enjoys a rare vamping role, and even Jim Carrey carries some legitimate hellzapoppin’ menace as the Riddler. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 11 July 2025

Noun

The rugby star wore black sandals with a single toe strap, a minimalist vamp and a thin stiletto heel that disappeared under her gown’s hem. —Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 16 July 2025

The open-toe shoe featured a strap across the upper that goes straight across the vamp and is made of polyester and spandex. —Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 15 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

short for vampire

Noun (2)

Middle English vampe, vaumpe "covering for the foot, upper of a shoe," borrowed from Anglo-French, probably truncated from *vampé, reduced form of avanpié, from avant- "fore-" + pié "foot," going back to Latin ped-, pēs — more at vanguard, foot entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1918, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

circa 1915, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1599, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for vamp

• amp
• champ
• clamp
• cramp
• damp
• gamp
• lamp
• ramp
• samp
• scamp
• stamp
• tamp