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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Recent Examples of bumping
Craft Sake Shoten is an intimate, unpretentious place to deepen your sake knowledge while bumping shoulders with incredibly friendly locals.
—
Kim Kay, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
Slotkin shies away from answer on 2028 Visiting Iowa used to hold more obvious significance for Democrats before the party shook up the early presidential nominating calendar last cycle, bumping Iowa from its place as the first state to weigh in on the nominations.
—Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
SpaceX chief Elon Musk said the commercial spaceflight company is bumping the 2026 debut launch of its massive Starship rocket yet again.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Then Buttered Popcorn dethroned it in 1998, bumping the cherry classic from its perch.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
The coaching staff and team members all jumped around on the sideline in celebration, with players chest bumping Mullins, and coach Dan Hurley had an interaction with a referee that went viral and brought backlash.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
If bees begin circling or bumping into someone, that can signal agitation.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Burries was high-fiving and chest-bumping teammates during each timeout.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2026
Images and videos shared on social media show robots from various brands getting lost, bumping into things, and struggling to cross streets.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2026
Kim Kay, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
Slotkin shies away from answer on 2028 Visiting Iowa used to hold more obvious significance for Democrats before the party shook up the early presidential nominating calendar last cycle, bumping Iowa from its place as the first state to weigh in on the nominations.
—Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
SpaceX chief Elon Musk said the commercial spaceflight company is bumping the 2026 debut launch of its massive Starship rocket yet again.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Then Buttered Popcorn dethroned it in 1998, bumping the cherry classic from its perch.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
The coaching staff and team members all jumped around on the sideline in celebration, with players chest bumping Mullins, and coach Dan Hurley had an interaction with a referee that went viral and brought backlash.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
If bees begin circling or bumping into someone, that can signal agitation.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Burries was high-fiving and chest-bumping teammates during each timeout.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2026
Images and videos shared on social media show robots from various brands getting lost, bumping into things, and struggling to cross streets.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumping
Verb
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Their show is a high-energy mix of friendly interviews with tech titans, industry gossip, and celebrations of funding rounds and other successes that involve banging a giant gong.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2026
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Then, on a force play, Contreras slid hard into second, banging into shortstop David Hamilton’s left knee with his cleats and tearing his pants.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One of the predators can be heard colliding with his Sea-Doo, while others could be seen jumping across the surface, the video shows.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Apr. 2026
-
When Vanecek misplayed the puck behind his net after colliding with defenseman Ian Cole, Coronato grabbed the loose puck and tucked it into the vacated net.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Swinyard said Mortensen allegedly drove away with Paul against her wishes, before the two got into an altercation that included Mortensen grabbing her head and slamming it into the dashboard, then hitting her knee and elbow with his fist.—
Rebecca Cohen,
NBC news,
7 Apr. 2026
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Video shows a car striking a large trash bin before slamming into the building.—
Abby Dodge,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In footage shared by the BBC on X, Medvedev, who suffered a 6-0 6-0 loss during the 49-minute match, was filmed smashing up his tennis racket six times and angrily tossing it across the court.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
9 Apr. 2026
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At the nearly 17-mile-long circular particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that sits deep below the French Alps, CERN scientists recreated the quark-gluon plasma by smashing together atomic nuclei of iron at near-light speed.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Word of a two-week ceasefire in the war in Iran and a possible reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers sent crude prices crashing on Tuesday evening into Wednesday.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
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The worry in markets has been that a long-term disruption will keep oil prices high for a long time and send a painful wave of inflation crashing through the global economy.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Bridgewater Police Officer Marc-Stephen Hutchins then arrived and started knocking on the door as well.—
Penny Kmitt,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
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The Stockyards is knocking it out of the park, the Near Southside is growing with hospital and hotel development, and new construction is under way in the West 7th District, Taft said.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the first shooting, Homeland Security officials accused a man of weaponizing his car and ramming a law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
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Watson founded the global Sea Shepherd conservation movement in the 1970s and for decades won a fearsome reputation for ramming vessels and other aggressive tactics in confrontations on the high seas that repeatedly landed him in jail.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Shannon scored 29 points in the second half, hitting five of seven 3-point shots.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc said Pages has become one of the team’s most regular users of the Trajekt machine – and Skenes is a frequent visitor.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumping. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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