PUMPING Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

pumping

verb

present participle of pump

as in bobbing

to make short up-and-down movements the thighs of the bicyclists were pumping furiously as they neared the finish line

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in interrogating

to put a series of questions to prying neighbors pumped the guileless child for information about the family's new pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in draining

to remove (liquid) gradually or completely pumped water from the well

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 pumping This is a type of life support that does the work of the heart and lungs, pumping blood outside the body through a machine that oxygenates it using a microporous membrane that allows for gas exchange. —

ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026 The first conclusion is that all groundwater users pumping from the Floridan Aquifer are in part responsible for declining flows at the many hundreds of artesian springs in Florida. —

Robert Knight, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026 After her victory, news cameras captured her sashaying in blue while pumping her arms in jubilation. —

Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 6 May 2026 The hearts of these sharks showed severe fibrosis, which happens when scar tissue accumulates and causes stiffness that can impair pumping over time, the researchers wrote. —

Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 4 May 2026 The Royals were down to their final two outs in the top of the ninth inning, with tough closer Andres Munoz pumping high-velocity fastballs on the mound. —

Jaylon Thompson may 3, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2026 Anaheim stormed to a 3-1 series lead while pumping 20 goals past the Oilers, who looked slower and creakier than the Ducks. —

Greg Beacham, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026 Iranian officials acknowledge their ongoing efforts to keep pumping oil can only work for a period. —

Anthony Di Paola, Fortune, 2 May 2026 According to a press release, this included watching women who were breast-pumping and engaged in intimate acts. —

Cbs Baltimore Staff, CBS News, 2 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pumping

Verb

Each node resembles a huge steel sphere bobbing on the water with a tube-like structure extending vertically down beneath the surface.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 5 May 2026
The host of Watch What Happens Live and executive producer of The Real Housewives franchise, Cohen is bobbing and weaving from one reality universe to the other in many different forms.

— Peter White, Deadline, 4 May 2026