Synonyms of pumping

pumping

verb

present participle of pump

1

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

• bobbing
• shaking
• jerking
• swaying
• nodding
• jogging
• wagging
• seesawing
• rocking
• jouncing
• swinging
• ducking
• wiggling
• bobbling
• oscillating
• jiggling
• wobbling
• undulating
• dropping

2

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

• interrogating
• examining
• questioning
• grilling
• quizzing
• sweating
• querying
• catechizing
• picking the brains of
• giving the third degree to
• harassing
• debriefing
• pestering
• hounding
• annoying
• canvassing
• polling
• cross-examining
• cross-questioning

3

as in draining

to remove (liquid) gradually or completely

pumped water from the well

Synonyms & Similar Words

• draining
• sucking
• siphoning
• emptying
• tapping
• bleeding
• drawing (off)
• cleaning
• drafting
• evacuating
• milking
• flushing
• exhausting
• purging
• depleting
• clearing
• vacating
• voiding
• effusing
• vacuating
• decanting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• filling
• wetting
• washing
• soaking
• watering
• bathing
• drenching
• flooding
• dousing
• drowning
• overflowing
• inundating
• sousing
• swamping
• submerging
• deluging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pumping

There are also some manual vacuums available that rely on a pumping action from the user. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026

Signs are also posted near the pumping station warning of alligators. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026

Yet several states, including New Jersey in 1949, banned drivers from pumping their own gas because independent station owners and labor advocates wanted to keep the status quo and protect jobs. — Jason Dressel, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Finally, once the rock was hollowed out, the miners would deliberately force a collapse, removing roof supports or even pumping tunnels full of water. — Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026

Launched in 2008, the effort includes both a new low-level water intake closer to the lake’s bottom and a pumping station to lift that water back up 500 feet. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

Hydroelectric equipment initially powered construction machinery, while surplus electricity supported pumping and served Phoenix customers. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026

The pump should immediately turn on and begin pumping water out. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 3 Aug. 2026

According to Navarrot, the primary approach of his district is in-lieu groundwater recharge, a practice where excess surface water is supplied to users instead of pumping groundwater. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 2 Aug. 2026