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
Back-rower Abi Burton had to lock for the first time, 19-year-old back-rower Demelza Short debuted, and Emma Sing got a shot at fullback, bumping Ellie Kildunne to the wing.
—
ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
Five years later, Marquinhos was chest-bumping Thiago Silva, his countryman and mentor at PSG, after forcing Mohamed Salah to run the ball out of play at the Parc des Princes for Liverpool.
—Stuart James, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Kansas State transfer tight end Brayden Loftin played in 12 personnel looks with the first-team offense, mainly blocking, but bumping out to the slot, too.
—Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 14 Apr. 2026
In one video clip posted by BroBible sports editor Jorge Alonso, Fieri is seen shaking hands with Andrew Tate and bumping shoulders with him.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026
Late last year, Germany bolstered its federal incentive program, bumping its cash rebate to 30% from its previous 20% to 25% level, and increased its overall annual cap to about $293 million, up from about $156 million.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The closure will not involve bumping rights, meaning that more senior employees will not be allowed to take the jobs of employees with less seniority, per the Department of Labor.
—Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Somewhere in a rotting log in Okinawa, two wingless roaches are guarding their nest together, bumping intruders with their butts.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
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
ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
Five years later, Marquinhos was chest-bumping Thiago Silva, his countryman and mentor at PSG, after forcing Mohamed Salah to run the ball out of play at the Parc des Princes for Liverpool.
—Stuart James, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Kansas State transfer tight end Brayden Loftin played in 12 personnel looks with the first-team offense, mainly blocking, but bumping out to the slot, too.
—Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 14 Apr. 2026
In one video clip posted by BroBible sports editor Jorge Alonso, Fieri is seen shaking hands with Andrew Tate and bumping shoulders with him.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026
Late last year, Germany bolstered its federal incentive program, bumping its cash rebate to 30% from its previous 20% to 25% level, and increased its overall annual cap to about $293 million, up from about $156 million.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The closure will not involve bumping rights, meaning that more senior employees will not be allowed to take the jobs of employees with less seniority, per the Department of Labor.
—Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Somewhere in a rotting log in Okinawa, two wingless roaches are guarding their nest together, bumping intruders with their butts.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumping
Verb
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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
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On the night he was arrested, Martinez confessed to shaking Heather and banging her head against a crib, but later recanted that confession.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Video of the crash taken by eyewitness Allie Cardoza, who was in a nearby vehicle at the time, shows the train colliding with the front of a black SUV.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
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The 22-year-old went down after colliding with Wolves’ Hugo Bueno while trying to keep the ball in play, and appeared in pain.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Video emerged online showing a red Ferrari shooting out of a tunnel along the highway at a high speed, slamming into a concrete barrier where the road curved and erupting into flames.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
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Hamadeh, who won his seat in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in 2024, also spent time in his speech slamming top Democrats with insults.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But as anyone who’s dropped a mug knows, ceramics are also brittle and prone to smashing.—
Caitlin Kennedy,
Scientific American,
25 Apr. 2026
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Police officers arrived at her Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles and learned that the attackers had left the woman inside after allegedly smashing her jaw and choking her.—
Francie Ebert,
NBC news,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Doing that at speed without crashing requires constant correction.—
Adriana James-Rodil,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
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The aircraft exploded minutes after takeoff from Colón, a Caribbean port city about 50 miles from the capital, before crashing without survivors.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Iranians have been knocking around in the United States’ critical infrastructure for years.—
Sue Halpern,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
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Serve it at room temperature so the salad on top won't wilt (and the cooking is complete before the guests come knocking).—
Ashlyn Ware,
Midwest Living,
24 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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Giants ace Logan Webb hitting the Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing with a pitch, as well as Rushing’s subsequent hard slide into shortstop Willy Adames, pale in comparison to the clashes between San Francisco and Los Angeles in the past.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
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But the big ticket moment comes in the morning, when coffee is delivered to you in bed and the tent canopy is drawn to reveal the sun hitting the looming red rocks of the canyon.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumping. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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