BUMPING Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

bumping

verb

present participle of bump

as in banging

to come into usually forceful contact with something that police officer bumped into me and should have apologized

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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 bumping Bonhams is bumping its buyer’s premium up to 30 percent from 28 percent for bids of £25,000 ($33,700) or less. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 Still, with the right conditions, getting close to beds without bumping deer becomes much easier. — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026 Against this stripped down but still bumping backdrop, Christmas and Crack’s loose, witty braggadocio shines. — Brendan Hay, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026 In June, Luna hopped clumsily from one branch to another, bumping Sandy off her perch and sending her to a branch below. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Fears that the good times might be over slashed 15% from the share price and since then the shares have been bumping along the basement of a fall of about 35%. — Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 That leaves operators with very little room to keep bumping prices. — Wyles Daniel, jsonline.com, 5 Aug. 2026 Traveling down conveyor belts, bumping around on baggage carts and in cargo holds, suitcases quickly pick up scuffs that can be hard to remove. — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 27 July 2026 And for everyone in the F1 paddock, there is now additional clarity on plans for the second half of the season heading into the summer break, while bumping the calendar back up to a provisional 23 races. — Luke Smith, New York Times, 26 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumping

Verb

The Chicago Cubs center fielder made an Air Jordan-style catch during Friday’s 6-1 win over the Miami Marlins, banging into a nook where two walls converge at funky loanDepot park.

— Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Last week, law enforcement in the city of Kirkland, Washington (just northeast of Seattle) responded to a 911 call from a resident reporting loud banging inside their home.

— Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of banging

Verb

So Pioneer 11 pioneered the way through Saturn's outer rings, going where no spacecraft had gone before — and nearly colliding with a small moon along the way.

— Tariq Malik, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
To study quark-gluon plasma, CERN scientists have generated this plasma by colliding heavy nuclei such as lead.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of colliding

Verb

This would prevent cyclists from smashing into car doors opened into bike lanes, McDermott said.

— Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Boteli sealed his hat-trick at the Johan Cruyff Arena after charging down the right flank, chopping inside and smashing into the far corner on his left foot.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

Another crash in a difficult cycle The golf champion failed a sobriety test in March after crashing his car not far from his home in Martin County, Florida, according to an arrest affidavit.

— Holly Yan, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026
Agile organizations must know how to stay steady with each crashing wave without losing their balance.

— Tonushree Mondal, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of crashing

Verb

After a month of ramming his 6-foot-7, 325-pound frame into his Kansas football teammates during practices at preseason camp, Kansas redshirt junior offensive tackle Calvin Clements is ready to hit somebody, anybody, wearing an opponent’s jersey.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026
In March, a man attacked Temple Israel synagogue in a Detroit suburb, ramming his car into the building and opening fire on a security guard before dying by suicide.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of ramming

Verb

The Orioles scored only one run over their previous three games against Boston, but Joey Cantillo (9-9) did plenty to help them out of their slump, allowing 3 hits and 5 walks and hitting 2 batters in 2 1/3 innings.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2026
In men’s tennis, before even hitting the ball, the server has around a 66 percent chance of winning the point.

— Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of hitting

Browse Nearby Words

bumpers

bumping

bumping into

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“Bumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumping. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of bumping

verb

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