vamp

1 of 4

noun (1)

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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
While Izzard vamps up a storm here, sporting effortlessly chic cherry-red lips and nails, many of the roles feel less than fleshed out. Karen D'souza, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025 As on much of the album, Bennett plays the straight man as Gaga cheekily vamps around him. Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
Noun
Lionsgate Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson threw it to the pic’s co-star Ortega to introduce The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, and vamp a la SNL-style. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2025 Only not fin at all because Daniel springs some follow-up questions on the vamps, beginning with softballs. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 30 June 2024 See All Example Sentences for vamp

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of vamp was in 1599

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Vamp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vamp. Accessed 5 May. 2025.

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