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

That means early galaxies were already pumping metals into the cosmos. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Fluxnium’s system focuses on capturing those atoms without pumping seawater through a large processing facility. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2026

Sources told Reuters that the pipeline was already pumping at a low rate and could resume exports at the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea later Tuesday. — Spencer Kimball,justina Lee, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026

Cardiac arrest — when the heart suddenly stops pumping — can occur from too little or too much insulin in a diabetic person, said Garg at Harbor-UCLA. — Dorany Pineda, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2026

The senator’s office steered government contracts worth millions toward the company while her campaign was pumping Kao and his network for donations, according to emails seen by ProPublica. — William Turton, ProPublica, 22 Sep. 2026

Like law enforcement agents everywhere, they’re disposed to bickering about jurisdiction or pumping each other for off-limits information. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026

Where the water stays The hum of the engines pumping water onto the field echoes across the field. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026

Quinten Martinez, pumping gas under a hot South Texas sun, remembers a time when fueling up didn’t require difficult decisions. — Steve Peoples, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026