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
Relevance
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.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bump
Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 26 Apr. 2026
The touch on his floaters, the variety of angles on his scoop layups, the strong shoulders that absorb bumps.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 Apr. 2026
Often lines up at the line of scrimmage in Jones’ man-to-man scheme and his bump-and-run skill throws receivers off their routes.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bump
Noun
His monthly listener count has since climbed by nearly 20 million, and that’s without the bump that Off the Wall and Bad will likely get from Michael’s release.
—Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 26 Apr. 2026
The touch on his floaters, the variety of angles on his scoop layups, the strong shoulders that absorb bumps.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Verb
Piper Sandler bumped its Blackstone price target up to $130 from $122.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 Apr. 2026
Often lines up at the line of scrimmage in Jones’ man-to-man scheme and his bump-and-run skill throws receivers off their routes.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bump
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bump
Noun
-
An infant’s accidental exposure to an infected child can mean serious illness, brain swelling and sometimes death.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
-
According to the Mayo Clinic, meningitis is an infection and swelling of the fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But the plaintiffs’ concerns were ignored and, in 2019, the department retaliated by starting Internal Affairs investigations and imposing a series of negative work actions against the officers, including demotions, removals from specialized assignments and involuntary transfers, suit stated.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Big Six clubs are in theory relegation proof with their ability to flex their financial weight to add players and avoid a demotion.—
Kurt Badenhausen,
Sportico.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Based on current findings, there is no indication of a mid-air collision.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
-
Hauser came up limping after a midair collision with Embiid on the final play of the first quarter.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Chris Sale sliced and diced and Drake Baldwin banged and bashed as the Braves beat the Rockies 9-1 on Saturday at Coors Field, setting a franchise record by starting the year unbeaten in their first 11 series (10-0-1).—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
3 May 2026
-
Jurors then heard sounds of banging and choking — and Athena screaming and crying, the Star-Telegram reports.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Remember, some lumps are preferred for the loftiest results.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Thereafter, a dedicated team began removing the soil from what appeared to be an unremarkable lump.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Red Sox have issued eight fewer challenges than any other team, but Alex Cora, who was fired on Saturday, said before his firing that he wasn’t bothered by the low rates.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
According to the space startup, this included a record-breaking 300-second burn—the longest duration hot firing of any RDRE engine yet.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
27 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
-
The standard method for identifying when an SPE occurred is measuring carbon-14, produced when high-energy photos penetrate the Earth’s magnetic field (usually near the poles) and collide with gases in the atmosphere.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 May 2026
-
The group of cyclists, who fell after the clash, collided into the side of the SUV and fell onto the pavement.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bump.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bump. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
