dump

Etymology 1

From Middle English dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump.

noun

1. A place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.
   A toxic waste dump.
2. A car or boat for dumping refuse, etc.
3. That which is dumped, especially in a chaotic way; a mess.
4. (computing) An act of dumping, or its result.
   The new XML dump is coming soon.
5. (computing) A formatted listing of the contents of program storage, especially when produced automatically by a failing program.
6. A storage place for supplies, especially military.
7. (slang) An unpleasant, dirty, disreputable, unfashionable, boring, or depressing looking place.
   This place looks like a dump.
   Don't feel bad about moving away from this dump.
8. (slang, often with the verb "take", euphemistic) An act of defecation; a defecating.
   I have to take a dump.
9. (usually in the plural) A sad, gloomy state of the mind; sadness; melancholy; despondency.
10. Absence of mind; reverie.
11. (mining) A pile of ore or rock.
12. (obsolete) A melancholy strain or tune in music; any tune.
13. (obsolete) An old kind of dance.
14. (historical, Australia, Canada) A small coin made by punching a hole in a larger coin (called a holey dollar).
    Basically, to overcome an acute shortage of money in 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie bought silver dollars from Spain and then punched the centres out, thereby producing two coins - the ‘holey dollar’ (worth five shillings) and the ‘dump’ (worth one shilling and threepence). Talk about creating money out of nothing—the original silver dollar only cost five shillings! The holey dollar and the dump have been adopted as the symbol for the Macquarie Bank in Australia. 2002, Paul Swan, Maths Investigations, page 66
15. (marketing) A temporary display case that holds many copies of an item being sold.
    The back of this display is constructed of a double row of cans which are interlocking. The double row is significant because it provides a source of stock to replenish the dump which will be located in the base of the stand. 1958, Milton Alexander, Display ideas for super markets, page 211
    Mass displays to move goods in bulk are dotted here and there throughout the store, particularly at the ends of the gondolas, and considerable use is made of dump displays. 1959, Agenda: Co-operative Management Magazine - Volumes 7-8, page 68
    Although they may have a lot of clutter in promotional cardboard dump displays, that factor is likely to change. 1985, Product Marketing for Beauty Industry Retailers & Manufacturers
    I remember that Bill made a little cardboard dump, with boots and a whip, for the bookstore displays, and the people in the chain stores were so outraged by this dump they threw it in the trash. 1996, Anne Rice, Michael Riley, Interview with Anne Rice, page 76

verb

1. (transitive) To release, especially in large quantities and chaotic manner.
2. (transitive) To discard; to get rid of something one no longer wants.
   The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped. 2013-08-03, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847
3. (transitive) To sell below cost or very cheaply; to engage in dumping.
4. (transitive, computing) To copy (data) from a system to another place or system, usually in order to archive it.
   to dump the ROM from a rare Nintendo game cartridge
5. (transitive, computing) To output the contents of storage or a data structure, often in order to diagnose a bug.
6. (transitive, informal) To end a romantic relationship with.
   Sarah dumped Nelson after finding out he was cheating on her.
7. (transitive, obsolete, Scotland) To knock heavily; to stump.
8. (transitive) To put or throw down with more or less of violence; hence, to unload from a cart by tilting it
   We dumped the coal onto the fireplace.
9. (transitive, US) To precipitate (especially snow) heavily.
10. (transitive, Australia) Of a surf wave, to crash a swimmer, surfer, etc., heavily downwards.
    Blowing like a grampus from every orifice, I leaned on a passing wave which dumped me[.] 1980, Ian Chappell, Chappelli has the last laugh, page 39

Etymology 2

See dumpling.

noun

1. (UK, archaic) A thick, ill-shapen piece.
2. (UK, archaic) A lead counter used in the game of chuck-farthing.
   The capons were leaden representations of cocks and hens pitched at by leaden dumps. 1825, William Hone, The Every Day Book

Etymology 3

Cognate with Scots dump (“hole in the ground”), Norwegian dump (“a depression or hole in the ground”), German Low German dumpen (“to submerge”), Dutch dompen (“to dip, sink, submerge”).

noun

1. (Northern England) A deep hole in a river bed; a pool.