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
Jascoco The cows stampeded into a neighborhood, knocking over mailboxes, trampling fences, and bumping into cars as they were being chased.
—
Julie Sharp, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Video footage of the race showed the animals hopping into the road, seemingly out of nowhere, and bumping into several cyclists.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
Tomorrow, the museum goes one step further by bumping him from top billing to solo performer.
—J. S. Marcus, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Macy’s employees have no bumping rights.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 22 Jan. 2026
But while a four-string electric bass can descend to 41 Hz, chances are that most speakers are only bumping and rattling in an attempt to generate such low frequencies, much less accurately replicating the timbre and voice of the instrument itself.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2026
In this tale, Harry and Ron first cross paths after bumping into each other in the halls of Hogwarts.
—Staff Author, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Jan. 2026
The sports bar is bumping even on non-gamedays, with watch parties of games that have a direct impact on New England.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 17 Jan. 2026
The space agency has only five days to launch in the first half of February before bumping into March.
—Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Julie Sharp, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Video footage of the race showed the animals hopping into the road, seemingly out of nowhere, and bumping into several cyclists.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Jan. 2026
Tomorrow, the museum goes one step further by bumping him from top billing to solo performer.
—J. S. Marcus, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Macy’s employees have no bumping rights.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 22 Jan. 2026
But while a four-string electric bass can descend to 41 Hz, chances are that most speakers are only bumping and rattling in an attempt to generate such low frequencies, much less accurately replicating the timbre and voice of the instrument itself.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2026
In this tale, Harry and Ron first cross paths after bumping into each other in the halls of Hogwarts.
—Staff Author, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Jan. 2026
The sports bar is bumping even on non-gamedays, with watch parties of games that have a direct impact on New England.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 17 Jan. 2026
The space agency has only five days to launch in the first half of February before bumping into March.
—Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumping
Verb
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My ten-year-old granddaughter was marching and banging her little saucepan with a salad spoon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Online posts questioning the city’s account continued into the week, and protesters have kept returning to the Hyatt, banging pots and chanting in subfreezing temperatures.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Recent protests amid corruption scandals, elite clan fissures, and governance failures suggest that nostalgia is again colliding with reality.—
Alejandro Reyes,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Fear, anger and solidarity are colliding across Minneapolis, as residents describe a city where daily life now relies on warnings and mutual care.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Another clip of the exchange posted by Reedy ended with Hamilton hopping into a van with other officers and slamming his door shut.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
McIntyre threw Fatu threw a table and then picked up Rhodes, slamming him into another table with a massive powerbomb.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By smashing together heavy atoms of lead traveling at near-light speeds using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scientists can create a high-energy environment that briefly frees gluons and quarks from this atomic bondage, recreating the quark-gluon plasma of the early universe.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Repurposing waste heat The launch of the system marked the first time that the Large Hadron Collider, better known for smashing protons at near-light speeds, has been tapped as a renewable thermal source.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wild video shows the moments that an out-of-control Waymo van veers off the road in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles before crashing into parked cars over the weekend.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
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During the plane crash, the left engine and its pylon separated from the wing, causing the plane to catch fire prior to crashing.—
Olivia Evans,
Louisville Courier Journal,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Even 6 inches of moving water can pose a serious risk of knocking you off your feet.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Jan. 2026
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Private bankers wealth managers and people looking for seed money will all come knocking.—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Perhaps the most high-profile government reversal was the case of Marimar Martinez, a Chicago woman accused of driving after and ramming a CBP agent’s vehicle, who in turn shot Martinez five times in October.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
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Video shows the Honda sedan repeatedly ramming into the wooden doors while people are screaming.—
Naveen Dhaliwal,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Gold extended its relentless rally on Thursday, crossing past $5,500 per ounce and hitting another record high.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
-
After Read discovered him dead in his former colleague's front yard, she was subsequently accused of hitting him with her SUV, sparking not one, but two lengthy and high-profile trials.—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumping. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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