1
as in swelling
a small rounded mass of swollen tissue
that's a nasty bump on your arm where you hit the table
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
3
as in collision
a forceful coming together of two things
I felt the bump of the other car, but there was no damage to either vehicle
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to bang
to come into usually forceful contact with something
that police officer bumped into me and should have apologized
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of bump
Noel Brennan, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
But even that path for Blue Origin has hit a bump in the road after this past Sunday’s NG-3 mission saw a failure in its upper stage that left its payload in too low of an orbit.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Durant bumped knees with a teammate during Wednesday’s practice in Houston and couldn’t move his knee well during pregame testing, Udoka said.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bump
Noun
Ed arranges an Uber trip for car parts, and Jackie tries to enjoy this first unexpected bump in the road.
—Noel Brennan, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
But even that path for Blue Origin has hit a bump in the road after this past Sunday’s NG-3 mission saw a failure in its upper stage that left its payload in too low of an orbit.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
And maybe that could prove worthwhile, since Marte’s arrival would likely bump Mayer to Triple-A in the short-term and possibly block his path in the long run.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Durant bumped knees with a teammate during Wednesday’s practice in Houston and couldn’t move his knee well during pregame testing, Udoka said.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bump
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bump
Noun
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Further investigation showed that the baby had suffered a skull fracture, ruptured blood vessels in her eyes, brain bleeding and swelling.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
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Children who recover can still face devastating ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea, dehydration, malnourishment, blindness, and brain swelling.—
Penelope Gatlin,
STAT,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The department’s discipline and accountability division recommended demotion as a result of the internal affairs investigation, according to the lawsuit.—
Ben Wheeler
April 16,
Kansas City Star,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Suleyman's 'demotion' With Copilot struggling to win over users, Microsoft said two weeks ago that Mustafa Suleyman, the former co-founder of AI lab DeepMind who had been running Copilot development for consumers, will focus on building AI models.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In addition, a 60-year-old woman was killed last month on a Davis bike path in a collision that involved an e-bike.—
Ashley Sharp,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
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The collision also left their 18-year-old friend critically injured.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But the loudness and frequency of cacerolazos—protests where people bang pots—across the island attest to the rage.—
Gisela Salim-Peyer,
The Atlantic,
23 Apr. 2026
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Jurors then heard sounds of banging and choking and Athena screaming and crying, the Star-Telegram reports.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Over Christmas, while trying to pinpoint where the discomfort was really coming from, Warner discovered a lump.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
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Castaways Raw Bar & Grill is another local favorite, which regularly draws crowds with its seafood mac-n-cheese and jumbo lump crab cakes.—
Kristy Tolley,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The department has encountered legal challenges to the firings.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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Also, to fill the gap created by the administration's own firings, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth authorized sending military lawyers (known as JAGs) to serve as temporary immigration judges for six-month rotations.—
Ted Koppel,
CBS News,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Yankees need Wells to provide at least some thump in a bottom third of the order that hasn’t been very good.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And yet my instinct to recoil at this all collides with a harder reality.—
Catherine Thorbecke,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
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Seconds after tipoff, White awkwardly collided with an Adem Bona screen while pursuing Maxey.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bump.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bump. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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