bump

Etymology 1

From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision"”), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”). Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”), probably of imitative origin. More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

noun

1. A light blow or jolting collision.
2. The sound of such a collision.
3. A protuberance on a level surface.
4. A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury.
5. (obsolete) One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Also (dated, metonymically) the faculty itself
   the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness
   Our task is to elevate the character of the people, raising up, in fact, their bump of self-esteem and suppressing the bumps of servility and fury. c.1845 Thomas MacNevin, cited in Charles Gavan Duffy (1896) Young Ireland: A Fragment of Irish History, 1840-45; final revision (London: T.F. Unwin) Vol.II p.100
   Another, with the bump of order unnaturally developed, had his folios and quartos all reduced, in binding, to one size, so that they might look even on his bookshelves. 1902, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, 2nd edition, page 102
6. (rowing) The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.
7. The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman.
8. (Internet) A post in an Internet forum thread made in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
9. A temporary increase in a quantity, as shown in a graph.
   US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings.
10. (slang) A dose of a drug such as ketamine or cocaine, when snorted recreationally.
    “They're getting their drugs mixed up,” she said. “If someone did a line of coke, it would be a very different size than if someone did a bump of ketamine, right? So if they're thinking it's cocaine and they do a line, they could go into a k-hole and be completely unable to move for hours. Maybe not hours, but for a while.” 2019-08-09, Joshua Azizi, “Shambhala Music Festival makes harm reduction a priority”, in The Georgia Straight
11. (preceded by definite article) A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump each other's hips together.
12. In skipping, a single jump over two consecutive turns of the rope.
13. (uncountable) A coarse cotton fabric.
14. A training match for a fighting dog.
15. (snooker, slang) The jaw of either of the middle pockets.
16. (US, slang, uncountable) Music, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response.
    Call me the juice and you know I'm a stunt; ride in the car with some bump in the trunk. 2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG
17. (industrial relations) A reassignment of jobs within an organization (for example, when an existing employee leaves) on the basis of seniority.
    For example, chain bumping, in which a bump by one employee initiates a series of consecutive bumps down a progression line before a layoff results, produces the greatest average number of reassignments per redundant employee. 1985, Peter B. Doeringer, Michael J. Piore, Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analysis, page 55

verb

1. To knock against or run into with a jolt.
2. To move up or down by a step; displace.
   I bumped the font size up to make my document easier to read.
3. (Internet) To post in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
   As in [the online forum] carersvoicesnz, certain contributors were more visible, taking the initiative to "bump" the thread to bring it back into view if it went quiet. 2015, Barbara Horrell, Christine Stephens, Mary Breheny, “Online Research with Informal Caregivers: Opportunities and Challenges”, in Qualitative Research in Psychology, volume 12, number 3, →DOI, page 264
4. (chemistry, of a superheated liquid) To suddenly boil, causing movement of the vessel and loss of liquid.
   Heat until the liquid bumps, then reduce the heat and continue the boiling for 1½ hours. 1916, Albert Prescott Mathews, Physiological chemistry
5. (transitive) To move (a booked passenger) to a later flight because of earlier delays or cancellations.
   Easyjet said the compensation package for passengers bumped off flights was 'probably the most flawed piece of European legislation in recent years' […] 2005, Lois Jones, EasyJet: the story of Britain's biggest low-cost airline, page 192
6. (transitive) To move the time of (a scheduled event).
   A colleague emails with news that her 4:30 meeting got bumped to 3:30. 2010, Nancy Conner, Matthew MacDonald, Office 2010: The Missing Manual, page 332
7. (transitive) To pick (a lock) with a repeated striking motion that dislodges the pins.
8. (intransitive, archaic) To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise; to boom.
9. (printing, dated) To spread out material so as to fill any desired number of pages.
10. (slang, transitive) To assassinate; to bump off.
    You know about the night the kid bumped Brody? 1944, William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman, The Big Sleep (screenplay)
11. (industrial relations, transitive) To displace (another employee in an organization) on the basis of seniority.
    Employees with 2 years or more, and less than 8 years plant seniority, may bump a probationary employee. 1969, Major Collective Bargaining Agreements, volume 9
12. (colloquial, dated) To anger, irritate.
    After his ancestors had been browbeaten by the Puritans, and his ancestors had been driven out by the early pioneers …, if he learned that a magnificent bronze statue is to be erected to his ancestors; wouldn't it bump an Indian? September 25 1911, “Wouldn't It Make You Mad”, in San Francisco Examiner

intj

1. (Internet) Posted in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.

Etymology 2

From Early Modern English; onomatopoeic.

noun

1. The breeding call made by the bittern; a boom.

verb

1. Of a bittern, to make its characteristic breeding call.