hump 1 of 2

noun

ˈhəmp How to pronounce hump (audio)
Definition of humpnext
1
as in pouts
British a state of resentful silence or irritability failing her A-levels has certainly given her the hump

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2
as in mountain
an elevation of land higher than a hill a cloud-capped hump straddles the border separating the two countries

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3
as in hill
an area of high ground the grassy hump at the center of the park is a popular sledding spot during the winter

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hump

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort the farmers had to really hump to get the harvest in before the rains

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2
as in to speed
to proceed or move quickly the boat was really humping before the motor started to sputter all of a sudden

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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 hump
Noun
In anticipation of supersonic flight, the 747 was designed to shift into cargo duty sometime by the end of the ’70s; its cygnine hump allowed containers to be loaded through its nose, which opens like the mouth of a cartoon shark. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026 But the rounded hump and more advanced and tactile scroll wheel are worth the extra girth. — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 10 June 2026
Verb
That territory has a bounty of middle-age men humping stools and occasionally noticing that death eventually comes for us all. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2025 Compounding the cacophony is a Jonny Greenwood score that veers between manic percolation—imagine a xylophone humping a coffeepot—and grandly operatic surges of synth. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hump
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hump
  1. pouts
  2. mountain
  3. hill
  4. struggle
  5. speed
  6. pet
  7. peak
  8. mound
Noun
  • Interspersed with Mellencamp’s idiosyncratic views of himself were old press shots of the singer, many without a shirt or showcasing pouts and flexed biceps, that fit the song’s wry message.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 30 July 2026
  • So how, exactly, did these polka-dot pouts make their way onto the mood board?
    — Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 25 June 2026
Definition of pouts
Noun
  • Nastassja Martin is a French anthropologist who studies indigenous cultures in Alaska and the Siberian mountains of Kamchatka.
    — The Know, Denver Post, 9 Aug. 2026
  • All of this good fortune heaped a mountain of pressure on Burke, who was then living in Virginia and working as an associate editor at Katie Couric Media, a fast-churning life-style site that traffics primarily in wellness and shopping content.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of mountain
Noun
  • The students then used a topographical map from the Internet and CNC machine to get the hills exactly right.
    — John Lauritsen, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The fear is that a spark from an encampment could be whipped by winds and quickly turn into a devastating blaze across Malibu’s fire-prone hills.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hill
Verb
  • In this edition of the AJC On Campus Roundup, the number of Georgians struggling to pay them back has skyrocketed.
    — Jason Armesto, AJC.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Some have done so successfully, others have struggled to reach such heights.
    — Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of struggle
Verb
  • There’s enough footage from the prior films to get you up to speed quickly, and none of the individual story arcs matter nearly as much as the larger sense that each season of human life is worthy of its own naturalistic exploration.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Manage Stress — Some stress is inevitable, but being in chronic fight-or-flight can speed up brain aging and inflammation build up.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of speed
Noun
  • While the business of cosmetically modified, futuristic-looking pets remains in its infancy, animal rights groups worry that eventually the creatures will be created, sold and later discarded in crowded municipal shelters.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Personalization also plays into this trend, with monograms or beloved pets displayed on pillows and blankets.
    — Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of pet
Noun
  • Yet the expectation is not to have every player at peak condition on the opening day of a league season, and very rarely do outfield players play the full 90 minutes in any conventional friendly.
    — George Edwards, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • At its peak earlier this summer, the fund sat atop roughly $45 billion in assets.
    — Yun Li, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of peak
Noun
  • After a discussion, the umpires announced that Schultz would have to exit because of the second mound visit of the inning.
    — LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026
  • New York Mets rookie Jefry Yan jumped high in the air with his feet spread apart, landed on the front of the mound and then slapped the grass with his left hand while briefly going to a knee.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of mound

Browse Nearby Words

humors
hump
humped
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Cite this Entry

“Hump.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hump. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on hump

Nglish: Translation of hump for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hump

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