English Explanatory Dictionary

lump

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Something that protrudes, sticks out, or sticks together; a cluster or blob; a mound or mass of no particular shape.
  2. A swelling or nodule of tissue under the skin or in an internal part of the body.
  3. A group, set, or unit.
  4. A small, shaped mass of sugar, typically about a teaspoonful.
  5. A dull or lazy person.
  6. A fat person.
  7. A beating or verbal abuse.
  8. A projection beneath the breech end of a gun barrel.
  9. A kind of fish, the lumpsucker.
  10. Food given to a tramp to be eaten on the road.
  11. The workhouse.
verb
  1. To treat as a single unit; to group together in a casual or chaotic manner (as if forming an ill-defined lump of the items).
  2. To bear (a heavy or awkward burden); to carry (something unwieldy) from one place to another.
  3. To burden (someone) with an undesired task or responsibility.
  4. To hit or strike (a person).
  5. To form a lump or lumps.

Pronunciation

/lʌmp/ en-us-lump.ogg /lʊmp/

Word forms

lump lumps lumping lumped

Etymology

From Middle English lumpe, from a Germanic base akin to Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to glide, go, hang loosely”). Compare Dutch lomp (“rag”), German Low German Lump (“rag”), German Lumpen (“rag”) and Lump (“ragamuffin”).

Related words

take one’s lumps lump it like it or lump it love it or lump it lump up

Derived words

bring a lump to someone's throat expository lump gluelump in the lump lady lumps ladylumps lumpability lumpatious lumpectomy lumpen lumpfish lump hammer lumpily lumpiness lump in one's throat lumpish lumpishly lumpishness lumpless lumplike lumps of delight lumpsome lumpsucker lump-sugar lump sum lump to one's throat lump work lumpy lunkhead sugar lump take one's lumps Welsh lump lumper lump the lighter lump together
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on L Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary